Wake Me Up When September Ends
by rowanred81
Summary: Follow-up to Teenage Dirtbag! Artwork by Inganah! Max Caulfield is headed down to Arcadia Bay for the Labor Day weekend. Her own troubles following her to Arcadia Bay, what new trouble will she get into with Chloe and their mutual friend Rachel Amber? New timeframe, set a year back, new introductions! Chloe's POV in Seattle, Max's in Arcadia Bay. Riot Grrrl Max!
1. Chapter 1

**Wake Me Up When September Ends**

 **Part One – We Are Sex Bob-Omb, from _Scott Pilgrim vs The World_**

 _ **This isn't your game's Max Caulfield…**_

 _ **HOLY FUCK! NEXT CHAPTER WILL PUT ME OVER 400,000 WORDS IN TWO MONTHS! JESUS FFFFUUUUUUUU**_

 **August 31, 2012**

 _Fuck her! Fuck every goddamn thing about her, I swear to Dog_ , Max Caulfield said through narrowed eyes as she sped down the highway towards Arcadia Bay. Managing to keep herself under control the majority of the trip, she had finally succumb to her anger at a gas station in Sherdian. Halfway between Portland and her destination, Max had stopped in the gas station's parking lot to catch her breath and wash her face off. What little makeup she had decided to wear coming off, the cosmetics couldn't hide the bruise or the circles under her eye.

"F-Fucking _Goddamnit_ ," Max stuttered as she splashed cold water on her face, "I hate her." Breaking into a choking sob, Max fished a joint out of her jacket pocket with shaking hands.

Lighting the joint, Max leaned onto what she figured was the only clean spot on the bathroom wall. She wanted her mind to be anywhere but where she was or had been for the past 24 hours. Max wanted to just _be_ in Arcadia Bay already with her arms around Chloe and sharing food or whatever with her girlfriend and Rachel. Taking a long drag of her dope, she slowly blew out some of the smoke before managing to catch it back in her mouth. Hearing someone gently tap on the locked back door, Max wiped at her eyes again and glared as the knocking was continued.

"Oh, _fuck off_! Wowsers, just leave me alone! There're _two_ bathrooms!" Max snapped, hearing someone mutter on the other side as she flicked the stub of her joint against the bathroom door before grabbing what she referred to as the "Max Caulfield Survival Kit". Two freshly-rolled joints, Max having smoked the third, light concealer, a lighter, and a battered old MP3 player in a small hard-shell box. Said box then being placed into her old camera bag, Max never went anywhere without her backup. Plugging earbuds into the music player, Max slipped them in and began to play "Goodbye Beautiful Day" as she began to re-apply her makeup. _Dog, I'm so thankful I never have to use this crap on a regular basis. Kristen would never let up on me, not after I talk so much shit about the new girl looking like a fucking clown_.

Thinking of her friend sent a jolt of pain in her chest as her anxiety flared at Max's most recent memory from Seattle. Local 360 didn't typically open until 11am for the lunch crowd; sometimes, though, the manager of the first shift would let the staff come in for breakfast. Everyone pitching in, Max had been invited by Kristen as the brunette had managed to finagle a four-day reprieve from the busyness of waitressing.

"I have to know how you managed to pull _this_ off, Maximillian," Kristen said, snatching a forkful of pancake off of Max's place as the brunette smiled awkwardly. "Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors, girl? Anxiety giving you headaches?"

"Uh, yeah," Max uttered, picking at a strawberry that had rolled off the stack of pancakes she has been picking at for the past five minutes, "Yeah. Haha, headaches totally suck."

Max knew that Kristen hadn't bought a single thing she had just said but didn't really feel like caring. Looking out from the blinds as they enjoyed a rare opportunity at window seating, Max watched the pedestrians take to the sidewalk and street crossings with no discernable interest until a hand shot out at her face and plucked the shades hiding her eyes.

"Hey! Goddamnit, Kristen!" Max cried out, trying to shield her face with a hand until she heard a gasp from her friend. Sighing, Max dropped her hand and let Kristen look upon her.

"Max…" Kristen tried to reach out to Max's face but the brunette flinching suggested that she didn't feel up for being touched. "…Your mom, again?"

"More like me and my 'smart mouth'," Max said, tentatively putting a couple fingers to her face as she traced the black eye, "Dad tried to stop her but she…she just gets like that sometimes."

"Don't defend her, Max," Kristen's tone turning serious, "God, what is Chloe going to think when she sees you like this?"

"T-That's kinda why I came, Kris," Max said as she brought her hard-shell case out of the camera bag slung over her shoulder. Showing her recently-purchased makeup, Max gave her friend an imploring look. "Will you help me put this crap on?"

Kristen had been kind enough to oblige, but Max knew that her friend had been fuming when she left. _I hate letting people find out about this kind of bullshit, but I_ really _needed help._ Snickering bitterly as she finished up her work in the gas station bathroom, Max put on some lip balm and secured her things back in the camera bag. Opening the door, Max saw an irritated-looking woman standing at a sports car glare at her. Smiling cheerfully, Max waved at her as she went into the gas station to get something to drink. _Yes, hello and fuck you too_ , Max thought before lowering her waving hand.

"Like I said. _Two bathrooms_ , geez."

Presently, Max was heading down Route 18 towards Arcadia Bay and the girl who was more of a home to her than the actual place she laid her head. Chloe popping into her head was like a security blanket for Max, sending a warmth flooding through her body as the brunette smiled at the picture in her head. Checking her speedometer and the rearview mirror, Max had no desire to get pulled over for breaking the speed limit as much as she was. _I also don't feel like taking my damn sweet time, either. Chloe's gonna be so surprised. I told her I was taking the bus, eheh._ Biting her lip in anticipation of the reunion with Chloe, Max stifled a squeal as she bounced in her seat. The jeep swerved for a moment, giving Max some clarity as she calmed down from her surge of exuberance.

"Incoming Call from _Dad_ ," the hands-free calling system notified Max, her phone plugged into the jeep's console. Huffing, Max took a sip of her Red Bull.

"Why yes, Mom, I know that caffeine can be something of a risk," Max said to herself in a biting tone, "But, Mother, so is your goddamn hand. _Boom_. Micdrop."

"Incoming Call from-"

"Ugh, _yes._ I heard you, wowsers. 'Answer call.' Jesus fucking Christ," Max muttered the last bit, eyes rolling before she winced at the pained sound of her dad's voice. "Uh, hi."

"Max," Ryan Caulfield said in a saddened voice, "You…You didn't come home last night. Where are you?"

"Heading home, dad."

"Good. Look, your mother feels really bad about what happened. You know that you can push her sometimes, but that isn't any excuse. It's just…"

"It's _just_ she hit me, Dad."

"I know, Max. I know," Max grimaced at how hurt Ryan sounded. _I'm hurt more, Dad. You_ know _that she'll probably just do it again._ "How much longer is it going to be?"

"She'll…she'll be moving out in a few days. The separation paperwork came in yesterday."

"So she takes out the impending divorce on the daughter? Mother of the freaking year, that woman…"

"Max, please. When you come home-"

"I'm still headed to Arcadia Bay, Dad. To Chloe."

"Oh."

Sighing, Max told her dad that she would call him when she got situated. Ignoring his question as to why a lot of her stuff was missing from her room, Max quickly told her dad that she loved him before hanging up. _I do love you, Dad, but I just can't be there right now. I-I can't. Mom…her and her fucking wine and her bullshit attitude. I have a job, I pay car insurance, a phone bill. I even offer to pay some kind of rent in appeasement after the first tattoo because she was so mad. Ugh! I can't win!_ Scratching at her chest, Max cursed at herself before resuming control of the steering wheel with _both_ hands.

"I need a little quiet and peaceful," Max said, smirking at the idea of a quiet and peaceful Chloe Price, "Well, a quiet and peaceful environment. Maybe. Yeesh."

Max knew that last night had partially been her fault. Getting permission after pleading with her dad, Max had went and got another tattoo. Part of her surprise for Chloe, Max had winced through the pain. Her ribs had been worse, but the collarbone area across her chest felt both icy and searing with ever move of her neck or arms. After her giddy chat Skype session with Chloe, Max had forgotten to put her hoodie on before heading into the kitchen. Her mom, already looking irritable, saw the slightest hint of the petroleum jelly that Max was using to keep the tattooed skin moisturized and nearly ripped Max's shirt off when she grabbed the brunette's collar.

"Max. Again?" Vanessa Caulfield had said yesterday, shaking her head as Max wrenched herself free of the woman's grip, "Honey, why would you keep doing that to yourself? You know how you are with needles…"

"I'm not _five_ anymore, Mom," Max replied, getting irritated as her mom simply looked at her disapprovingly, "Why can't you ever just be happy for me? My grades are good a-and I'm actually happy. For _once,_ I'm genuinely happy."

"You say that now, but when _whatever_ magic you and Chloe have fizzles out you will know how I am feeling right now. Your father…"

"Dad wants you out because you get drunk and tear into both him _and_ me. Never mind you 'occasionally' smack your daughter around."

 _Slap!_

"M-Max…," Vanessa said, a pained look on her face from the resulting immediate regret of striking her child, "I…I'm…"

"You're an honest-to-Dog bitch."

Max had stormed off to her room, an intense look of focus on her face as she pushed the entire brownstone out of her mind and packed for the trip to Arcadia Bay. Scratching at her new tattoo as she halted in front of her walk-in closet's full-length mirror, Max leaned against the reflective surface and whimpered as she cried while touching the darkening spot above her left eye. Screaming, she beat the mirror with a small fist until a spider-web crack formed from the successive impacts.

Scratching at the tattoo once more, her mind lost in thought as she drove automatically down the road, Max decided to think of the tattoo and not what had followed later with her mother. _Honestly, if I'd known…nah, I'd still get it._ _Chloe's going to squee her throat raw. And I_ finally _get to meet the 'illustrious' Rachel Amber. Texting and Skyping are nothing compared to an in-person meet-up._ Avoiding the faces of _both_ her mother and father from better days as they popped up in her mind, Max pushed the accelerator pedal a little more as she shot towards Arcadia bay and further away from Seattle and the source of her misery.

* * *

Two Whales was nearly empty as Max entered. Dressed in her usual denim shorts, stockings, and sneakers, Max had opted for a black tank-top and her old Army fatigue shirt. Sleeves rolled up as she plopped onto a stool, Max leaned against the counter and observed Joyce Price as Chloe's mom was busy cooking something up on the griddle. _She's so nice_ , Max thought with a faint smile, _Nicer than she actually needs to be. Chloe doesn't give her mom enough due. Joyce has gone through her own hell just as much as Che has._ Sighing as she took a salt shaker and began to spin it on the countertop, Max watched Joyce nearly drop the plate of pancakes as the brunette's sudden appearance caught her by surprise.

"Max!" Joyce exclaimed, putting a hand to her chest with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

"Eheh. Nice to see you, Joyce," Max said with a giggle, brushing a loose strand of her chestnut hair with her nose crinkled as a smile that reminded Joyce of years long past crossed the girl's face, "Uh, 'Boo', I guess?"

"Boo, indeed. Just…just give me a minute, Max. I'll be right back," Joyce said, muttering something Max couldn't make out as the brunette sat in contemplative silence.

Oh, _Dog_ , _I hope I didn't piss her off. I mean, she smiled, right? She's happy to see me, isn't she?_ Her anxiety beginning to rise as old insecurities began to re-emerge, Max clenched her hands and closed her eyes to calm both her nerves and her mind. _I'm here and everything is fine. I'm here and everything is fine_ , Max thought like a mantra as she took in deep breaths.

"So, what can I get for Max Caulfield? Scaring the hell outta me isn't going to win you any free food this time, kiddo," Joyce said with a wry grin.

"What if I tell you that you look exceptionally pretty and that Two Whales has the best food I've ever had?" Max asked, smiling as she leaned against the counter.

"…Decent save, Max, if not obvious. You want something to eat?"

"Still serve breakfast 24/7? You _know_ that I meant every word, Joyce. The truth is the truth."

"Belgian Waffle, right? I swear, you eat only that and you're going to wake up a waffle someday, Max." Giggling at Joyce's words, Max watched her girlfriend's mom call back her order to the cook before coming back with coffee and a water. "Chloe doesn't know you're coming down this early, does she? I called her yesterday; girl's on pins and needles, so excited. Rachel, too. I'm sure you know that she's spending her senior year at the girls' dormitory up at the school."

"Y-Yeah, she told me," Max stammered faintly, trying to push aside how angry Chloe had initially conveyed the information to her two weeks ago, "She…she sounded better about it yesterday. More calmed down. Che hella bit my ear off a couple of weeks ago, she was so mad."

"I just agree with David on this one, Max. She's going to be out of school next spring and she needs to start taking _some_ responsibility for herself. Even if it's a dorm room, she has to keep her space tidy and take care of herself more than she was under the roof of our house."

"Yeah, I can see that," Max said, nodding in agreement over the need for Chloe to take some measure of responsibility, "I can also see why she was so mad. She has a lot of trouble expressing herself without everything coming out as anger."

"Except for you. You coming to get her is probably the best thing for her in years, Max." _Aww_ , Max thought at the admission, her face getting hot as she looked away in embarrassment. "All that toughness and city 'tude, but you're still the same girl I made pancakes for with William."

"I'll _always_ be that little girl in some way. There's just a lot more to me now, s'all," Max said, sipping at her coffee as she looked over Joyce's shoulder to see a Belgian waffle appear on the counter separating the kitchen from the front area. "Food's ready."

Smiling, Joyce turned around to get Max's order and return to the brunette with a piping-hot Belgian Waffle. Scooping a few dollops of whipped cream onto the food, Joyce set out a small bottle of maple syrup and offered to refill Max's coffee.

"No thanks. Too much caffeine already." _Way too much. I'm going to be fucking bouncing all weekend long._ "Um, Joyce?"

"Yeah?" Joyce asked, seeing the nervous look on Max's face. "Max? What is it?"

"A-Are you sure…is it going to be okay, my sleeping at your house during the weekend?" _Hey, Joyce? Is your jerk of a husband going to nail me for every single thing I do? Dickhead._ "I don't want to cause any trouble…"

"Relax and eat your food, Max. If David gives you any shit, remind him that you're a guest in _my_ house. He'll mind his manners; I'll make sure of that."

Nodding hesitantly as Joyce left to make the rounds with her coffee pot, Max poked at the waffle apprehensively with a fork before letting out a breath she'd been keeping in. _Please let this weekend go off without a hitch. I just want my Che. Please? Can I just have that blue-haired dork and be left the fuck in peace?_ Looking up as though in prayer, Max silently asked for a nice weekend before turning her attention to the plate of food before her.

"Time to nosh," Max said, cutting up a slice of waffle and dunking it in the mound of whipped cream. Her mind placidly calm as she chewed the morsel, Max felt at peace as the world slipped away into just her and thoughts of Chloe.

* * *

The Arcadia Bay bus station had an additional function as the point where the commuter trains came through. Oversized for a town of Arcadia Bay's size, the station was used for unloading and loading on one side for buses and the other for trains. Opting to park a couple blocks away, not wanting to give away her already being in town, Max had slapped a dark blue beanie onto her head and tucked all her hair in as she watched an old truck pull up to the curb facing the station. Seeing a long-haired girl slide out of the passenger side before pointing to a parking lot across the street in the direction opposite Max, the brunette giggled. _That must be Rachel. Wow, she's so pretty. No wonder Chloe thinks she could be a model. Streaming video doesn't do you justice. Wowsers._

Peeking from around the building she was hiding by, Max watched as a blue-haired girl came walking up to Rachel. Both girls dressed like they had just gotten back from a grunge show, Max smirked as Chloe looked down at her phone.

 **Chloe: Max! Where u at** , **nerd? I need my gf time meow.**

 **Max: enough with the super troopers, Che. Bus is almost there, I think. I could use some quality Che Time too**

 **Chloe: Whatcha want to do tonight? Like I said last night, not much aside from all the nothin' in this town.**

 **Max: Is the old movie theater still open?**

 **Chloe: well, yeah**

 **Chloe: they don't play anything new, tho**

 **Max: I looked it up and saw a horror movie marathon is scheduled for tonight.**

 **Max: The Exorcist, Evil Dead 2, Night of the Living Dead.**

 **Max: Classics!**

 **Chloe …**

 **Max: come ON! I watched Jaws with you last week. Yeah, it was on Netflix and we were texting as we watched separately**

 **Max: I still watched it, and you know I get freaked out by that movie**

 **Chloe: dun-dun**

 **Max: Chloe stop it**

 **Chloe: Dun-DUN**

 **Max: I swear I will turn this motherfucking bus right around**

 **Chloe: wehhhhhh FINE**

 **Chloe: UGH**

 **Max: ?**

 **Chloe: Rachel's been reading over my shoulder. She's in.**

 **Max: hahahaha, victory is ours Rachel! Brunettes unite over her blue-haired punk-ass!**

 **Chloe: STFU, Maxine**

 **Max: harsh. No love 4 u**

 **Chloe: Nooooooo I sowwy!**

 **Max: Che?**

 **Chloe: Yeah?**

 **Max: look across the street.**

Putting her phone back into the camera bag slung over her shoulder, Max watched as Chloe showed her phone to Rachel before both girls looked down the street. Max laughed as the girls looked the wrong way, Chloe scratching her head in confusion as Rachel put a hand over her eyes to shield her vision from the sun.

"Hey, dork!" Max shouted, putting her hands to her face. "You're facing the wrong way!"

Chloe spun around so fast that Rachel had to catch her before she tripped over her own feet. Leaning against a telephone poll set next to her, Max giggled as she heard a loud " _Nerd_!" come from Chloe as the bluenette came sprinting across the street. Her mouth split in a large grin, Max felt her heart pound as she saw her girlfriend in the flesh for the first time in two months. _She's beautiful. Two months went by too goddamn slow, Chloe. I-I missed you…missed you so much…_

" _Max_!" Chloe exclaimed, opening her arms wide as the misty-eyed brunette came leaping into her arms, "Hey, lady! Oh, Max, don't cry. You fucking cry as much as I do, I swear."

Max put a finger to Chloe's lips. _Why do you have to talk so damn much when there's better things to do, Chloe?_ Max thought as she pulled the brunette down by her jacket collar and pressed their lips together in a forceful kiss. Turning her head as their lips parted and met in repetition, Max slid her tongue into Chloe's mouth quickly and took in the taste of weed and soda. Max didn't want to let her go, pulling Chloe back into her when the bluenette pulled back to catch her breath. _Stand still, you! I could_ literally _eat you up right the fuck now, honest. How are you so sexy and so damn cute at the same time, Che?_

"So," Chloe said, panting as Max finally let her go, "You…whew, you miss me or somethin', Mad Max?"

"Maybe a little," Max smirked, her cheeks flush from the kissing and realizing how much of a spectacle she had made them. Hearing a cat-call from a little ways down the sidewalk, Max's face reddened further before rolling her eyes in amusement at the approaching Rachel Amber.

"Holy shit, Chloe," Rachel said, punching Max's girlfriend on the shoulder, "No wonder you never shut up about her! Damn, Max, you're a firecracker!"

"Hey, Rachel," Max said, smiling as the tall girl leaned into Max's arms for a hug. _She's not_ that _much taller than you, Chloe. You made it sound like she's an Amazon, doofus_. "Heh, 'Max go boom'?"

"Max go _very_ boom," Rachel said, kissing Max on the cheek, "You are fucking adorable, both of you are. Let me take a picture at the happy reunion."

Max leaned into Chloe, their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders as they looked at Rachel's camera phone with bright smiles. Hearing a slight _click_ from the phone's speaker, Max was glad that the moment of her and Chloe's reunion would be recorded and looked away from Rachel for a second to get her own Polaroid camera out. Holding it out so that Rachel could take another picture with it, Max saw a look of concern in Rachel's eyes and furrowed her brow in confusion. Chloe's attention diverted by a call from Joyce, Max watched Rachel approach her with some hesitation in the tall brunette's steps.

"What's wrong?" Max asked, her mouth turned up in a smirk as she tilted her head slightly to one side, "Rachel?"

"…Are you okay, Max?" Rachel's voice was low and quiet, Max watching her glance over at Chloe before returning her attention to Max. "My…my phone takes hi-def pictures. I know concealer when I see it."

 _Oh fuck. No_ , Max thought as she backpedaled a few steps away from Rachel Amber, the taller girl face twisting downwards in a worried frown. _This is_ not _happening. Please just leave it alone, Rachel. I-I don't…I don't want to talk about it. Can't we just laugh and smile and…_ fuck _…_ , Max thought, tears beginning to well up. Rachel moved closed the distance between herself and Max almost immediately, the little brunette thankful as her friend wrapped her up in a warm hug.

"Fuck, Max. I am so…oh, God. Chloe doesn't know, does she?" Rachel said, patting Max's back while checking to make sure Chloe wasn't paying them any attention. "Thank God that Chloe has fucking tunnel vision when it comes to her parents right now. Hey, how 'bout I ride with you? Chloe can drive back to Blackwell and I'll help you drop your shit off at Joyce's."

"She w-won't be pissed?" Max stuttered, burying her face into Rachel's shirt, "I…I just wanted this weekend to be perfect. I just want _her._ "

"Sweetie, she will fucking manage an hour longer," Rachel said, pulling herself away from Max as she called out to Chloe, "Hey Chlo! I'm going to ride with Max to your mom's and help her unload her stuff. We'll see you back at the dorms, yeah?"

Max peered over Rachel's shoulder to see a perplexed Chloe look at them with a curious expression before nodding and returning to her phone call. _I want to tell you, Chloe. I'd just like some time with you before shit hits the damn fan. My crapocalypse can wait at least another hour, okay?_ Sniffling, Max wiped at her face as she led Rachel hand in hand to her jeep.

"Your wheels are a helluva lot nicer than Chloe's, heh," Rachel said as she climbed into the passenger seat, "Cleaner, too. Except, apparently, for the floorboard. That's a _lot_ of energy drinks, Max. That can't help with your anxiety."

"Thanks, _Mom_ ," Max said, wincing at the memory of her mother as she felt her stomach twist. "Just…just fucking kick them out onto the parking lot, if you want. Also, not all of them are from today. So please dial the parenting skills down some, okay?"

Getting a thoughtful nod in reply from Rachel as they buckled their seat belts, Max started her jeep back up and leaned out the window to give Chloe a kiss before taking off for Joyce's.

"See you soon?" Chloe asked, taking the phone away from her face for a moment, "Hey, are you okay Max? You look upset."

"I'm just tired, Chloe." The statement was a half-truth; while Max _was_ tired, her state of mind was the result of many other things aside from road weariness. _I'll never get the fuck away from it all. Dog, not ever._ "Um, yeah. See you soon, Che."

Max didn't notice the look that Rachel gave Chloe as she leaned back into her seat. The brunette was narrowing her attention down to just getting back onto the street, giving herself small goals that kept her mind occupied. _Get it together, Max. Chloe needs you, and you need her. You can't go it alone forever. Your dad, Chloe; these people need you and shutting down isn't going to make the bad things go away._

"Fuck," Max mumbled under her breath, cursing herself more than anything else as she felt truly cursed. _I just want to be happy_. _Can't I just have that, if only for a little while?_

* * *

Max pulled into the driveway of Joyce's house and shut her jeep off; moving to slide out of the driver's seat, Max felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking over at Rachel, Max was torn between just withdrawing into herself and bawling her eyes out as she told Rachel everything. This wasn't Max's first time crash-diving into a friendship; she had done so with Victoria Chase and the confidence she had placed in the blonde girl had backfired when signals became crossed. _And now she's here in Arcadia Bay. Just another fucked up thing in my fucked up life. Huzzah and all that other crap! Insert groan here…_

"Max, talk to me," Rachel said, her tone soft as she tried to encourage the conflicted, freckled girl.

"…No," Max finally said, looking over her shoulder at Rachel, the other girl clearly taken aback by Max's refusal. "I…Chloe should be the first person I talk to about this. Nothing personal, Rachel. You're really sweet and I feel like I know you a little better now that I've met you in person and not just online; I just need to tell Chloe _first_ before anyone else. I-Is that okay…?"

"That's fine, Max," Rachel said, a smile on her face as she lightly squeezed Max's shoulder in support, "I just hope you talk to someone about whatever it is you have going on. Keeping shit from Chloe, something that comes with a black eye, _that_ will have consequences. You know a lot more about her situation than you let on; our talks prove that plain as day."

"You told me a lot that first night, when Che and I were at The Skylark. I can't believe that her stepdad tried to hit her."

"He came close, Max. If it weren't for me and Joyce, he probably would have," Rachel said, looking away as she held her arm with her other hand, "He's a fucking jerk, that's for sure. You be careful when you're crashing here, okay? He spied on Chloe so he'll probably try the same thing on you."

"The stepdouche is welcome to try," Max said, narrowing her eyes before giving a snicker Rachel an incredulous look, "What?"

"You and Chlo are just so similar, Max. No wonder you two fit each other so well; you're both dorks." Rachel held back her laughter when Max's face turned a dark red, "I can't tell if that's anger or embarrassment. Chloe said you're hella shy half the time."

"S-Shut the fuck up," Max stuttered before pulling herself free of Rachel's hand and hastily exiting the jeep, groaning when she heard Rachel confirm that it was shyness. "Ugh, Rachel! You want to _walk_ back to Blackwell?"

"Oh, pffft. Like you'd actually do that. You're too nice."

Max just stared at Rachel through the rear window as she paused in unloading her bags. _Try. Me._

"You _wouldn't_ dare," Rachel said, clamping her mouth shut when she saw a wicked grin flash across Max's face as a reply. "H-Hey, Max, would you like some help?"

"Why yes, Rachel, that would be lovely." Teasing Rachel, Max felt her spirits lift a bit as she went inside Chloe's childhood with Rachel behind her, heading directly up the stairs and into the room that had once been Chloe's. "Well, at least nothing's changed."

The room looked almost the exact same as Max remembered, the girls walking in before Rachel closed and locked the door. _What the butt?_ Max thought as she shot Rachel a confused look, _You expecting a home invasion or something, Rachel?_

"Asshole insurance," Rachel said, setting down the duffel bag as she took in everything that Max had brought, "This is a bit more than a person needs for a long weekend, don't you think? What aren't you… _whoa_. Max, is that a double-fret guitar?"

Max looked over at Rachel with a sly grin and nodded. _That's my baby so you better be nice, lady_ , Max thought as she walked over to the soft case and unzipped the side. She had been overjoyed when her father had given her the guitar as an early birthday present a couple weeks ago. The reasoning behind her receiving the gift early being a distraction from everything going on in the house, her mom slowly moving her belongings out, Max had been relatively indifferent as she had immediately begun to fool around with the electric guitar. _I love my acoustic, but this thing is so hardcore_ , Max thought as she slipped the guitar out, both of its necks a little worn from being second-hand.

"Holy fuck, Max. Can you actually play this?" Rachel asked as she slung the guitar strap over her shoulder. Winking, Max only elicited a larger grin from the taller girl as Rachel strummed randomly at the strings.

"Yes, I can _actually_ play my own damn guitar," Max's sarcasm getting a giggle from Rachel as she pulled a small amp out of the duffel Rachel had been carrying. No bigger than a lunchbox, the small piece of audio equipment's sole light glowed red as Max plugged it in. "See, _this_ I don't mind showing you before Che. Heh, I've been wanting to show someone what I've picked up. You're my first, so be gentle."

"Does Chloe get her dirty humor from you?" Both girls laughed before Max cleared her throat and began to focus on the task at hand.

Motioning for Rachel to take a seat, Max watched the taller girl sit over at Chloe's desk. Running her hands along the worn fretboards before making sure that both sets of strings were in tune. _Everything sounds chill_ , Max thought as she began to strum, _This is my second greatest escape, right here. Chloe comes first, but playing music and my photography has been around longer._ Popping her knuckles against her neck one hand at a time, Max began to slowly play a simple rhythym. Watching Rachel's head bob as the taller girl swayed in beat with the music, Max giggled before tearing into a faster rythym. Rachel's eyes widened to Max's delight as her perfectly small hands flew across the fretboards, plucking at all the right strings with her guitar pic.

"…Uh…holy shit," Rachel said, eyeing Max as the freckled girl unslung her guitar and began to pack everything back up, "What…what was that, and how do you hide being able to do that?"

"It was a couple tracks from a local Seattle band. La Dispute? No?" Max snickered as a bewildered Rachel shook her head. _Eheheheh, I'm full a' surprises. Something_ Chloe _loooooves about me,_ Max thought. A grin plastered on her face as she spaced out, Max came to when Rachel coughed. "Heh, sorry. Um, a couple guitar pieces from two of their songs, 'Fall Down, Never Get Back Up Again' and 'Damaged Goods'. I've been playing since…since my family moved to Seattle. My dad wanted to keep me distracted from everything that went down here. I was already into photography, so he indulged me in music. Chloe actually got my interest in music started. I just picked it up from there and ran with it."

"You're like a musical ninja. I _so_ did not see that coming, Max. Fucking dope!" Rachel said before getting startled by her phone suddenly vibrating in her back pocket. Cussing, Rachel flipped off Max teasingly with a smirk as she looked at the screen. "L-O-L. Chloe will nag the shit out of me about where _you_ are but I don't think she's hit you up once. Want to have a little fun, Max?"

Max giggled mischievously, walking over to sit on the desk as Rachel leaned on the space next to the diminutive guitarist. Opening the message app up, Rachel and Max bent over the screen before Max pulled out her own phone.

 **Rachel: u could just txt Max, u kno**

 **Chloe: eheheh…uhh…**

 **Rachel: u awkward fuk**

 **Rachel: don't matter**

 **Chloe: ?**

 **Max: Rach, come back 2 bed**

 **Rachel: Max, I'm…shit, I'm on the phone with Chloe**

 **Max: this is a conference chat? Oh crap**

 **Chloe: bullshit**

 **Rachel: ours is a secret, torrid love**

 **Max: o Rachel**

 **Rachel: o max**

 **Chloe: not**

 **Chloe: even**

 **Chloe: fucking**

 **Chloe: funny**

 **Max: sry baby. We're on our way, okay? Still up for movies?**

 **Chloe: how bout u me and pizza in my room? I haf movies, Maxaroni**

 **Chloe: plus…I get u to myself and not a room of fucking spazmonauts**

 **Rachel: You two have your own fucking language, I swear**

 **Max: slkjfoske, Chloe?**

 **Chloe: oiusodkfw, Max! Hella oiusodkfw! ROFLMFAO**

 **Max: XD**

 **Chloe: NO EMOJI! Get yo booty in gear, dude!**

Max joined Rachel in a shared fit of laughter, both girls getting red in the face as Chloe kept asking where they went. Max sent Chloe a final message indicating that they were heading to Blackwell and grabbed some of her things – hygiene bag, guitar, amp - before heading out the door. Closing the door to Chloe's room, temporarily Max's new domain, Rachel spun on her heel to produce a key.

"Joyce gave this to me in secret a couple years ago," Rachel said as she placed it in Max's palm, "You know _some_ of how bad things got for Chlo. It was a pretty dark time back then. Joyce entrusted me with this key for Chloe's room. _This_ is your 'Asshole Insurance', Maxaroni. I don't want David fucking with you like he's fucked with me and Chloe."

Max took the key and felt her lip tremble at how kind the taller girl was being. Kristen and Fernando were equally kind, but Max had come to know them for years; Rachel took her in immediately and Max loved her new friend for it. Kissing Rachel on the cheek in thanks, Max watched with faint amusement as Rachel's face reddened ever so slightly. Giggling, Max nearly fell on her face when the taller girl retaliated by yanking her down the stairs.

"Your lady awaits, ninja rock star," Rachel said, smiling as she looked over her shoulder at Max when they had made it outside, "Come clean. Are you a riot _grrrl_ , Max?"

"First rule of riot grrrl club is to not talk about riot grrrl club," Max said, sticking her tongue out at Rachel as the other girl laughed in response with a sarcastic "Okay, Max Durden" causing the freckled brunette to join in on the laughter. Opening their respective doors, both girls climbed into Max's jeep with Max starting the engine up before Rachel could even get her seatbelt on. Backing out of the driveway with a squeal of her tires, Max wiggled her eyebrows at an excited Rachel Amber before looking in the rearview mirror. Max sighed at the concealer having worn off, _That's just great. My first quality time with Chloe in two months and I'm barreling in with a shiner_ , her tears and sweat having gotten into the powder. Muttering to herself about how shitty the weekend was starting, Max went for her sunglasses only to have Rachel block her grasping hand.

"Don't hide it, Max. Let her see. It'll be better if you're upfront with someone who loves you like Chloe does," Rachel said, her words encouraging as she gave Max an earnest look, "Have faith in your girlfriend. I know that things are still new, but she's really trying."

"Okay," Max said with a sigh, slumping her shoulders as she began to head in the direction of Blackwell Academy, "You're right. I owe it to her as much as I owe it to myself. Maybe. I already told her some things. She probably came to her own conclusions in Seattle, not seeing how my home life is when the 'rents are around. Wowsers, this is probably gonna suck."

* * *

Max couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when there was no sign of her blue-haired girlfriend in the parking lot of Blackwell Academy. The area mostly vacant, Max had spun through the small lot before backing into the space next to Chloe's truck. Rolling up the windows, Max switched off the engine and snatched her sunglasses before Rachel could stop her. Putting up a hand before Rachel could speak, Max gave the other girl her best set of puppy eyes and was rewarded with her new friend's sigh of resignation.

"You're going to have to tell her eventually, dude." Rachel's statement felt more like an ultimatum to Max, though they both knew that wasn't the case. "Do you _really_ want her to figure it out on her own or from _somebody else_? It would kill her, Max. She needs to know that you trust her."

"I _do_ trust her, Rachel. I gave her my heart, for crying out loud!" Max snapped, wincing at the wounded look on Rachel's face. "Ugh, I'm sorry, Rachel. I…I just need to blaze, nosh, and unwind. I slept in my damn jeep last night and I've only had Two Whales, water, and a couple Red Bulls."

Rachel came over and gave Max a hug, both girls latching onto one another for a moment. Rachel soothing, Max sighing, the girls detached as Rachel grabbed a small suitcase that Max had kept out of the unloading at Joyce's house. _Clothes, my stash, laptop, et ceter-fucking-a. The Max Attack Strikes Back!_ Smirking at her own pun, Max followed Rachel across the courtyard of Blackwell's main building.

"I'm assuming it's desolate because school's out," Max said, watching the slight breeze play with the trees, "Otherwise I'm going to have to ask how I got to Silent Hill."

"Ooh, have you played _Silent Hill: Downpour_ yet?" Rachel asked excitedly as they turned into the breezeway leading to the girls' dormitory.

"I think it looks a little like _Alan Wake_ , but I'm excited to try it out," Max said, "I thought all you played was _Left 4 Dead_ , Rachel."

"You can call me 'Rach', Max. Ease the hell up, pint-size," Rachel said, wrapping her free arm around Max as she slowed her pace to catch the freckled girl unawares, "Blazing definitely sounds like a good idea. Fair warning, though – Chloe's deterrent to getting caught toking up in her room is pretty fucking awful, Max. Like, people have complained awful."

Frowning as she tried to imagine what Chloe could do to get people to complain, Max let out a barking laugh to Rachel's amusement. _What the hell_ doesn't _Chloe do to get complaints? She might as well come with a comment box nailed to her ass._ Giving Rachel a mocking curtsey as the taller girl held the door open for her, both girls stuck their tongues out at each other before heading up the stairs to the second floor.

"This is where we part for now, Max Caulfield," Rachel said at the door leading to her and Chloe's floor, "My room is the first on the left, Chloe's is the last door on the right. You two, well, I don't feel like being in the midst of Chloe _en flagrante_. I need you to do something for me, though."

"Hmm?" Max asked, smirking with a curious look on her face as Rachel placed both of her hands on Max's shoulders.

"Chill…the fuck…out. You're here for days, Max. Enjoy it, and enjoy your girlfriend. Two months, even with Skyping and texting, is a _long_ fucking time. You're only 12, after all."

"I'll be 17 in a couple weeks, _ass_."

"Like I said, you'll be 5. Later, Maxaroni!"

With Rachel ducking into her room, Max was left to her own devices as the taller girl's door closed with a quiet _click_ of the lock. _Shit, shit, shiiiiiit_ , Max thought as she stood right in front of the stairway door. Her feet wouldn't budge, and her chest was pounding something fierce. _Not now_ , Max thought as she dragged herself inch by inch down the hall. The freckled girl felt terrified, but of what Max did not necessarily know or understand. _I should feel ecstatic about_ finally _being with Chloe again, but I'm not. I'm dreading it. Did I set my expectations too high? Is there something wrong with me? Am I going to mess all of this weekend up? Wowsers, I'm a fucking nut-bar._

"You can do this, Max," Max muttered to herself, trying to talk herself up, "Just knock on the door and let yourself get swept up in being _here_ with Chloe. Your _girlfriend_." The thought of Chloe as her girlfriend turning the corners of her lips up in a faint smile, blue hair and eyes piercing her surge of depression, Max took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Max!" Chloe said, her face lighting up with a huge smile when she opened the door, "You're here! Get your ass in here, nerd!"

Feeling suddenly very shy, Max looked down at her feet for a moment before she felt Chloe's hand on her shoulder. Looking back up slowly, Max saw Chloe's warm smile and felt part of what had been bothering her up to that point fizzle out. Dropping some of her bags, Max stood on her tip-toes and wrapped her arms around Chloe. Both girls leaning in, their foreheads touched for a moment before Chloe brought her lips to Max's. Not the hungry, greedy kiss from a half-hour ago, their lips moved more slowly, their tongues lapping inside of each other's mouths as Chloe placed a hand on the small of Max's back. Feeling a moan writhe up her throat, Max shuddered as what felt like electricity shot through her. Feeling Max tremble, Chloe let her girlfriend go and stood back with an accomplished smile on her face.

"Dude, why are you wearing sunglasses inside? Despite reports to the contrary, that shit is hella stupid," Chloe said, chuckling as she reached out for Max's shades only backpedal when Max batted the blue-nailed fingers away, "Ow, Max! What the fuck?"

"I-I'm sorry," Max said, looking away in embarrassment. Stepping into the doorway, Chloe having moved deeper into her room, Max sighed. "I'm sorry, Che. There's something…c-can you help me move my stuff inside? I-I'd rather not leave my belongings in the hallway." _I can't speak the words I need to, what with all this foot in my damn mouth. Ugh, just tell her already! Rachel's right – she needs to hear it from_ me.

Max and Chloe becoming awkward after the rejection of Chloe's touch on the part of her girlfriend, they carried the few bags that Max had on her. Eyeing Max's guitar case and amplifier with a muted interested, Chloe turned looked over her shoulder to where Max stood near the mirror. Max looked at herself in the mirror, sunglasses in her hands as she hid her black eye with chestnut hair. _Why am I so terrified? She's my girlfriend. Chloe_ loves _me. She wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Would she…?_ Max's mind shot back to screamed words and angry tears from a little over four years ago. _Argh! That was a different situation. Stop living in the past, Caulfield!_

"Chloe, I-I need…I need to show you something," Max said, slumping against Chloe's door before she leaning against as she sat on the floor.

"Max, you are hella confusing right now. You kiss me at the station, fucking epic-level kiss, you tease me over the phone, kiss me here, and then you shut down and slap my hand away," Chloe said, moving to sit across from Max in a cross-legged fashion, "Are you on a bad trip? Did you blaze with a shit batch or something?"

"What? No, nothing like that," Max said, looking down at her fidgeting hands, "Here. I'll show you."

With a shaking hand and reddening eyes, Max pulled back the hair she had only moments ago used to cover her black eye. Not able to look Chloe in the face as her injury was suddenly out in the open, Max winced as she heard a sharp intake of breath from her girlfriend. _Please don't freak, please don't freak. I'm freaking out enough for both of us, Chloe. Honest to Dog, I really am._ Chloe's fingers brushed against the cheek below Max's injured eye and she tensed up for a moment before leaning her head forward so Chloe could get a better look.

"Max…," Chloe said, her voice quiet and somber as she gently probed at the dark bruise around Max's eye, "What happened?"

"…My mother…"

"W-What? Your mom…no, no fucking way-"

"I-I wouldn't _lie_ about this, Chloe! I have no reason to…" Max began to sob as she felt Chloe's other hand come forward so that the bluenette was cupping her girlfriend's face.

"…How long has it been like this? Your place…I mean, there's nothing to suggest…Max, _why didn't you tell me about this before_?"

"Because I-I didn't want to burden you with it, Chloe. I know you've been dealing with David's fuckery for years, I know about a lot more than you think. Rachel…she's kinda filled me in on things…"

"…Things?" It was Chloe's turn to tense up, her fingers beginning to pull away from Max's face before two smaller hands grasped onto them.

"No, please! Please, Chloe. I'm the one who has fucked up here. I should have told you sooner, but I just wanted to be happy," Max said, leaning forward so that the top of her head was pressed lightly against Chloe's chest as the bluenette scooted forward. "I-It started…a-a couple years ago. Mom's job in Seattle fell through and Dad was pulling double-duty in the Marshal's office. She drank. A _lot_."

"Hey," Chloe said, putting a hand to Max's chin and raising her head up so that the girls were looking into each other's eyes, "You don't have to spill it all right now, Max. I just want you to know that you _can_ trust me with this type of stuff. I love you, dude. What were you worried about, me flipping out?"

 _Yeah_ , Max thought. Only a nod was able to escape her as her body was shaking from the emotional impact of letting her most private life out for someone to know. _You're the only one I'd tell everything to, Che. I want you so bad, want to tell you everything. It's just that there's so much, and I always seem to just be too tired to get into it._

"I-I…," Max stammered, Chloe trying to calm her down only for her voice to pick back up with a stronger edge, "I was just working on my homework the first night. I had been on the balcony, taking a smoke break from studying for my finals. She wanted a hit. It wasn't that big of a deal, but she wouldn't give it back. She said _she_ needed it more than me, at the time, that she was between jobs and that nobody seemed to care. I-I cried and told her that wasn't true, and then I tried to take my joint from her. I…I think it was an accident, but the back of her hand came across my temple and the next thing I knew I-I was on the floor with her looking at me with such a sad face…"

"Hey, Max," Chloe said, sliding over so that she was sitting next to a crying Max. Pulling Max's head into her lap, Chloe felt Max grasp at her jeans and stroked her girlfriend's hair. "Hey, I'm right here. I'm here for you, babe. I'm not going anywhere, okay? Do you need your meds? Do you need to blaze up?"

Shaking her head, Max buried her face into the leg of Chloe's jeans and felt the denim become wet from her tears. _I-I'm just so tired, always tired. Tired of my home, tired of my life, tired of…of_ everything. _I don't cut anymore because I've got my stash and medication, but it's just replacing one means of escape and relief for another. They can't take away the pain – they can only help me bury it further._ Sniffling, Max wiped her eyes and nose with a shirt sleeve before taking the olive drab shirt off. Hearing Chloe whistle, Max looked up from her position and turned around so that she was lying down in Chloe's lap with her face looking up at the smiling bluenette.

"What?" Max asked, her voice meek and soft.

"I spy some new ink on ya, Max," Chloe said, pointing down at Max's collarbone and chest, "Eheheh, sorry. I'm…I'm getting awkward. Not used to being someone's shoulder to cry on, Max."

"S'okay," Max said, reaching up to caress Chloe's cheek, "You're actually not that bad at it for a first-timer, dork."

"Nerd."

"Your nerd."

"Hella yes!" Chloe said, grinning as she kissed the palm of Max's outstretched hand. "Can we…can we talk about this-"

"Later?" Max couldn't help but feel a little hurt. _I get that it is a lot to take in, Che. You probably thought my life was fucking perfect, or whatever. Perfection is a lie, and we're all just liars-in-progress. Still, you listened. Wowsers. Yeah, we can talk later._ "Sure."

"Dude. Lemme see the new ink," Chloe said, sitting Max up so that she could get to her feet. Holding her hands up, Max helped as the bluenette pulled her to her feet.

"Heh, I got them with you in mind. I think you'll know what I mean," Max said as she began to pull her shirt off.

"Uh," Chloe uttered, awkward and blushing as Max paused with the tank-top halfway off. "S-So. This new ink my name? Did you finally admit you belong to me, Max Caulfield?"

"I belong to myself _first_ , Chloe Elizabeth Price," Max enunciated every word of Chloe's full name, emphasizing that she wasn't anybody's property, "And you're beyond dorky if you think I'd ever get anyone's name tattooed on me. That's right there with getting a heart with my dad's name on it only to find they misspelled 'Ryan'."

"Ouch, Max. So hurtful, and from the kids' meal of girlfriends, too." Chloe laughed as Max flipped her off, the brunette giggling from inside the tank top as she finished raising it over her head. Tossing it on Chloe's bed, Max put her hands on her hips.

"Well?"

"That…that is fucking amazeballs, Max. Like, holy crap." Chloe's stunned reaction satisfied Max. _Heh, pick your jaw up. You really are a dork._

Three blue butterflies traced along Max's collarbone, small wisps of blue and black lines trailing between them to simulate air. The blue of the wings almost seemed to glow as Chloe looked on, Max crossing her arms over her chest as she began to feel awkward at getting her girlfriend's undivided attention. _Feast your eyes, Chloe. Don't fucking devour me whole, though? Okay? Geez._ Feeling Chloe's fingertips trace along the tattoo, Max winced at how fresh the newest addition to her ink still was.

"How recent is this?" Chloe asked, examining the tattoos with greater detail. "The coloring is so vivid, Max."

"Heh, yesterday. I got them yesterday," Max said, motioning that she wanted her tank-top back. Catching the tossed shirt, Max quickly pulled it over her head and down until she was covered once more. "Still stings. I haven't had a chance to moisturize it yet today."

"Heh, want me to slick that up for you?" Chloe's mischievous look became a pout as Max responded with a rolling of her eyes and shaking of her head.

"Dude, you are the _worst_ when it comes to cheesy innuendo. Where do you come up with this crap?" Max asked, giggling as she began to look around Chloe's room. "Are you sure this is a dorm room and not a dank alleyway that was just plugged _into_ a dorm?"

"Shaddup! I just want it to feel like home, yo. Welcome, to casa de Chloe, Max. We hope you hella enjoy your stay."

The walls covered in doubles of her posters back at Joyce's, Chloe had forgone the sharpie graffiti in exchange for sheets of notebook paper scattered along the walls with lyrics from songs and doodles. _A blurb in sharpie here, a string of profanity there. You really have been marking your turf, Chlo._ Seeing something peeking out from behind the wall Chloe's bed was set alongside, Max knelt on the mattress and began to take a closer look. _You have this whole damn wall covered. Why is_ this _wall covered?_ Seeing the gleam of several pieces of tape, Max realized that all the posters on the wall she was facing were not only taped to the wall but also to each other.

"What _will_ I find behind door number one, Chloe Price?" Max said, looking over at Chloe as her girlfriend stood rooted in place, looking away with her cheeks flush in contrast to her blue hair. Not getting an answer, Max peeled a corner off the wall and bent down to try and get a better look. "This a mural or something?"

"…Or something. Can you just…can you just leave it?" Chloe asked, her voice surprising Max in how earnest the pleading was.

"I'm not prying _that_ much, Chloe. Here, I'll put it back." Max set the corner of taped posters back along the wall and smoothed it so that it stuck once more. "I _would_ like to see it while I'm here, though. If that's okay. Knew you couldn't live here without defacing _something_ …"

"You should have seen the back of the gym. The caretaker guy was rolling paint for two days. I'm a Picasso with a spray can, Mad Max."

Lying down on the bed, Max giggled as Chloe leaped from where she stood to land next to the brunette. Chloe nuzzling her neck, Max giggled and winced as the slight tickling sensation and pain of her new tattoo blended together. _Junior sadomasochist? Ugh, no fucking way. Though I hope that Chloe doesn't stop; she can always move_ up _, y'know._ Tilting her head down, Max met Chloe's lips halfway before the taller girl slid up the bed so that they were lying parallel to one another. _Atta girl_ , _Che._ Smiling between kisses, Max placed a hand on Chloe's hip and pressed it down so that she was able to straddle her girlfriend. Leaning over a smiling Chloe, Max gave Chloe a smile of her own and felt the heat coming from her cheeks.

"What?" Max said, her tone bashful and wanting at the same time.

"Y'know, you can be pretty sexy when you want, Max," Chloe said, holding the small hands that had been placed on her shoulders as Max began to lower herself incrementally, "To me, though, you'll always be beautiful."

" _Hella_ beautiful?" Max asked, a giggle beginning only to stop just as suddenly. The serious look on Chloe's face seemed to erase all the mirth that had been building in the small dorm room. "Hey, I was just joking around. I think it's wonderful-"

"I love you, Max. I think you're amazing and beautiful. You're so much stronger than I could have imagined the little girl I knew might become," Chloe said, somewhere between blurting and a pre-prepared speech, "I know that I am a smartass sometimes, and that I don't always take serious things _seriously_. I just want you to know I will always take your heart into account with _anything_ that comes our way. You are my rock, Max, my shelter and my home."

 _…Wowsers,_ Max thought, tears falling onto Chloe's cheeks as they spilled from Max's eyes. _How are you able to say such amazing things, Chloe, when you've been fucked with for so long? How can you shine so bright in a place so dark?_ Lowering herself the rest of the way down, resituating her seated position, Max tilted Chloe's chin up as she met the bluenette with breathy kisses and the slight wetness of her tongue. _I can't really describe what you mean to me, Chloe Price. All I can do for now is be here to show you. Someday soon, I'll be able to put it into words. Until then…_

"I love you."

 **Author's Note –**

 **1-800-4-A-CHILD – Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline**

 **If you are or have been the victim of physical, verbal, or psychological abuse at the hands of a parent or guardian do not hesitate to take a stand for yourself.**

 **You are not alone.**

 **You are not the first, but you are as of equal importance as anyone and everyone else.**

 **Call the number listed above and help yourself.**

 **Well, that's the first of the four-part follow-up to** _ **Teenage Dirtbag.**_ **A different perspective, a different tone.**

 **Dark, Riot Grrl Max is dark and riot-y…**

 **I know that Max is the default for a lot of people's stories, and I** _ **know**_ **from people telling me that I write Chloe better than I do Max. I think I write Max just fucking fine, but I felt challenged to try a starkly new approach. Whereas with my previous fics, I abandon a type of dichotomy I realize have been using in regards to Max and give her a unique personality that is both shy and rebellious.**

 **How 'bout that Rachel Amber, eh? Squad goals, level "Trifecta."**

 **More soon to come, and I mean** _ **soon**_ **. I won't DONTNOD you.**

 **Read, review, and I will see you for Chapter 2 -** _ **Keep On Livin'**_

 **Stay Hella, Cinnamon Rolls! ^_^V**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wake Me Up When September Ends**

 **Part Two –** _ **Keep On Livin'**_ **, by Le Tigre**

Half-empty soda cans, an empty pizza box, and clothes littered the floor of Chloe Price's dorm room at Blackwell Academy as Max found herself staring up at the ceiling with a smirk on her face. Tree car-fresheners in a myriad of colors hung in place with the aid of black electrical tape. Mixed along with strips of Christmas lights, the lone ceiling light attached to the ceiling had been blacked out by Chloe's further use of electrical tape. _That's one way to hide the pot smell, Chloe,_ Max thought to herself as she took a puff of her joint and blew it out the window she was sitting at.

Leaning herself against the sill, one leg hanging out of the open window, Max straddled the window-sill as she leaned against the frame to watch the pre-dawn sky begin to lighten ever so slightly. _I can't believe I got up this early. I'm supposed to be on vacation and all the lazy shit that comes with it. I swear to Dog, if this happens every morning I'm here I will knock myself the fuck out when I get home. Tramadol, come to me. Come to Max._ Coughing slightly as she tried to inhale and laugh at the same time, Max heard Chloe slightly moan from the bed, the bluenette's legs sticking out from the bed that was too small for her.

"Adorable dork, that's what you are. I'd use 'adorkable' but I feel that I might vomit," Max said to a sleeping Chloe across the room, sliding over so that she was sitting on the sill and facing Chloe's room. "I feel so bad, Che. Can't help but think my kidnapping of you in July landed you here. A dorm girl you are most certainly _not._ "

Sliding off the sill as she ran the stub of her doobie against the building's brick outer wall, Max tossed the doobie in Chloe's trash can before sitting in one of the camp chairs Chloe had in her room. Grabbing her laptop off the floor, Max plugged herself in the earplugs connected to the laptop and started up a playlist of Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, and Lykke Li. _I'm anything if not eclectic, heh_ , Max said as "Rebel Girl" kicked off her morning properly, _Hmm, let's see what's new in the world of Le Tumblr._ Watching her dashboard light up with activity and mail notifications, Max scrolled down the browser window. _I really need to deactivate anonymous asks. Trolls will be trolls, but Jesus fuck I don't need "Show me yer tits" over and over._

Max rolled her eyes at the grey circles with sunglasses. _You want me to flash you? Keep your dick pics to yourselves and away from the internet. You'll give us all AIDS or gonorrhea._ Seeing a message from Fernando, aka cookslikecray, Max snickered at the icon of the cheezburger cat with a chef's hat and moustache.

 _Noir Angel! How goes it in the hometown? Kristen filled me in. You okay? Hit us up if you need to – we'll bail you out of jail…or any Third-World prison you end up in. I can cook, so I'll bribe them with fudz. – Fernando_

"Heh. I'm surrounded by dorks, it would seem," Max muttered to herself as she replied with a winking emoticon and opened up a new text post. Thinking about Thursday night, Max winced at the memory of her mother's hand. _This one's for you, "Mom"._

 _Do you remember_

 _How you'd wash my hair?_

 _I'd laugh in the bath water,_

 _Under your loving care?_

 _Where the fuck did time go_

 _When you were walking through_

 _Without a goddamn clue_

 _At the shit you put me through?_

Saving the draft, Max closed her laptop and took out the earbuds as Chloe began to stir. Quietly setting the laptop down in the chair she'd just been in, Max bit her lip in apprehension as she tip-toed to the bed and slid under the covers. Careful to not further stir her girlfriend from the slumber Max figured she needed, the brunette simply leaned her head into the crook of Chloe's neck and listened to the sound of a heartbeat's slow thunder. _I could get used to this_ , Max thought as a wan smile played across her lips, _Snuggles and warm blankets made warmer by someone else being in them. That someone else being you, Chloe, makes them even warmer._

Not knowing when she had fallen back asleep, Max squinted as the sunlight crept through the window she had left , Max slid one arm under Chloe's back and wrapped the other over the bluenette's abdomen so she was holding onto the other girl. Draping a leg over one of Chloe's, Max felt like she had just found Nirvana.

"Mmm…" Chloe groaned, twisting herself around so that she was sleeping on her side, mouths parted open with the sound of faint breathing. Max licked her lips at the sight and memory of Chloe's lips. Neither girl had been entirely ready last night; between _Scott Pilgrim_ and _Dune_ , Max and Chloe had managed to get as far as half-naked cuddling and several make-out sessions. _Shit was hella_ , Max said, her face getting warm at the memory. _I…I wouldn't mind a morning repast of Chloe kisses. I don't want to wake her, though. Ugh, hormones_ more _mones!_ Trying to wiggle her arm out to go back to her laptop, Max's eyes opened wide as the still-free leg of her girlfriend draped over both of her own. Effectively pinned in bed, Max looked down toward her legs only to nearly jump when she looked back up to see Chloe peeking at her from one eye. The other eye hidden away under blue bedhead, Chloe's single mesmerizing eye gazed upon Max with a faint sleepiness as the bluenette's mouth stretched into a slow grin.

"Hey, nerd," Chloe said, yawning slightly as she leaned in to give Max a kiss, "Miss me?"

"You were right here, dork," Max said, chuckling as she planted a few small kisses on Chloe's lips.

"I meant in general."

"Chloe, unless you're literally in bed with me I don't think there's a moment where I wish my Che was next to me," Max cooed, pulling a strand of blue hair behind Chloe's ear before cupping the other girl's cheek. "Satisfied?"

"Never."

"good. It'd get fucking boring if you were." Max tapped Chloe's leg, "C'mon. Feed me."

"Foodstuffs? There isn't any pizza left?"

"Are you kidding? You are kidding, right? Chloe, you might be partly _made_ of pizza after last night. You ate so much I started having flashbacks of the Choux pastries from Seattle," Max said, poking Chloe's cheek with an index finger. "Ziggy piggy."

" _Chloe and Max's Excellent Adventure_ , eh? We still need a phone booth."

" _Max_ and Chloe. Screw that skeezy thing. I'll take a TARDIS, thank you very much. Allonsy!" Max giggled, seeing Chloe roll her eyes as she mouthed _nerd_ at Max to the brunette's amusement. Pulling a surprised Chloe so that the blue-haired girl was lying on top of her, Max pulled her girlfriend down into a long, feverish kiss. Hearing a moan shudder through Chloe, Max smiled as she kept her lips on Chloe's, lightly squeezing Chloe's side to get another moan out of the bluenette. Pulling away with a gasp, Chloe stared down at her girlfriend with a smirk.

"You surprise me every day, Max Caulfield. You're something…fuck, I don't know. Shit, you made me speechless!"

"Holy fuck, is it snowing outside?"

"What?"

"You're speechless. Clearly, the apocalypse is nigh. Where's my snow? Where's my dogs and cats living together in mass hysteria?" Max said, smiling as Chloe let out a groan.

"Too many pop culture references before breakfast. That, and I need a shower."

"Your whole room needs soap and water, Che. I smell like generic-ass Pine Sol. Seriously, though, you _had_ to use car-fresheners? You couldn't get one of those scented plug-ins or whatever?"

"Whatever. Diss my décor. I see how it is." Chloe pouted, crossing her arms as she continued to straddle Max. _Do you have any idea how cute you look right now, Che? Wowsers, and you expect me to take you even the slightest bit seriously? Heh, not gonna happen. If you keep trying to act serious, you're gonna have a bad time._

"Aww, that pout looks edible. Lookit that lip. Max pounce."

"No. No pouncing."

"Max nibble?"

"…Max nibble."

Chloe leaning down into her, Max was joined in her giggles by her girlfriend as they tried to kiss through their own laughter. Chloe leaning her head against Max's shoulder as the bluenette laid on her, they shook with the cumulative laughter emanating from them both. Wrapping her legs around Chloe's midsection with a relish, Max pushed her lips against her girlfriend's and found herself surprised when Chloe lifted her up just by sitting straight.

"Jesus Christ!" Max exclaimed, eyes wide open before melting into Chloe's mouth with another kiss as her girlfriend's hands found her ass.

"Heh."

Lying down in bed, Max was drinking a flat soda that one of them hadn't finished the night before as Chloe was in the bathroom washing up. _Maybe I should have taken her up on the offer to join her_ , Max thought as she sipped at the flat Coke. Feeling lazy, Max nestled the can against her hip as she put her hands behind her head and took the moment of relaxation in. _This is what I need this weekend. Chloe and just chilling out, relaxing. No fuckery, no bullshit from home._

"I…I can't do that to Dad, though," Max said, frowning at the thought of her dad sitting in the brownstone alone, "Shit."

Setting the soda under the bed, Max got out of bed and walked over to where her jeans were. Pulling out her phone, Max dialed up her dad's cell phone.

"Max?"

"Morning." Max actually felt somewhat cheerful now that she was with Chloe, but she toned it down when she heard the saddening tone in her dad's voice. "How…how are you?"

"Miss ya, kiddo."

"Vanessa gone?"

"Your mom is gone, yeah. Headed out last night. She'll come by for the rest of her things later, but I made it clear that after basically running you off she was no longer welcome in our home."

"Who do you mean with 'ours', Dad?" Max's serious tone was replied to with a sigh over the phone before her father spoke up with a resigned tone.

"I guess I mean you an' me now, Max."

"Good answer. For what it is worth, I wish things could be different. I-I remember how things used to be. I just can't keep wishing that I could go back to that. You shouldn't either, Dad. We have enough drama with _one_ person suffering from clinical depression. Two would just be melodramatic."

Hearing her dad chuckle, Max smiled faintly while Chloe came back in. Putting a hand to her phone, Max mouthed _My Dad_ and Chloe bent down to Max's phone.

"Hi, Mr. Caulfield!" Chloe said in a friendly tone. _Thank you, Chloe, for not being a complete doofus._

"Chloe?" Mr. Caulfield said as Max put the phone on speaker. "You sound the same. Good to hear from you, kiddo."

"I'm a grown woman, Mr. Caulfield. 'Kiddo' is for pee-wees like Max," Chloe said, wincing as Max responded to the teasing with a punch to the bluenette's shoulder. "Your daughter is _mean_!"

"You told on me to my dad? I thought you just said that you were a grown woman, Che." Chloe stuck her tongue out at Max, Max grinning in response and mouthing _Grown woman, my ass_. _"Groan" woman, maybe…_

"What do you have in store for my daughter, Chloe?"

"Eheheh. There are…things set in motion, Mr. Max's Dad."

"I bet. Look, honey, I'm glad you called. Call me again if you need anything, have a great weekend, and I'll see you when you get back."

Max reciprocated her dad's wish for a great weekend with her love and hung up. Leaning herself into Chloe, Max sighed as she tried not to think about Seattle. It was only Saturday morning and for Max the bustling city that had been her home for four years was the last thing she needed or wanted to think about.

"I don't wanna go home," Max said with a pout as she buried her face into Chloe's sleep shirt.

"I don't want you to, either. Stay with me?"

"…'kay," Max said, her voice muffled by the fabric of Chloe's shirt.

"I'll bring you snacks and come back real fast between classes for hella kisses and food for my lady."

"You know how to treat a girl right, Chloe Price. I ever tell you that?" Max said, looking up with a pleased smile on her face.

"Fuck no! You're stingy with compliments and accolades! I pour my heart out and you give me the fucking slow clap, you brat."

Max snickered and raised her hands to begin clapping when Chloe cussed and wrapped her hands around the smaller girl's. Max cried out "You're not the boss of _me_ " in feigned defensiveness before giving Chloe one more kiss. Extricating herself, Max snatched her hygiene bag from off the floor and teased Chloe by flashing her pink bra at the blue-haired punk before closing the door to narrowly dodge a pillow.

Chuckling as she padded down the hall in her bare feet, Max straightened her sleep shirt and boxers out as the few people still on the floor began to drag themselves out of their rooms as well. _Rachel looks like a zombie,_ Max thought with a grin, _She must put a_ lot _of work into that hair. She looks like Rosanna Danna._ Bumping into one of the Blackwell students, Max apologized as she absently walked past the girl and into the bathroom. Seeing a couple other girls brushing their teeth, she blushed only momentarily as she fell under their scrutiny as the stranger to their floor.

"Who're you?" a brunette asked, her bob haircut getting straightened out and doused with hairspray as she leaned her back against a sink to examine Max. "I haven't seen you before. New student?"

Shaking her head, Max pulled off her t-shirt and smirked when the girl who had spoken to her gawked at the tattoos she sported. _Yes, I have tattoos. Yes, they hurt at first. No, I won't tell you where I got them or how much it cost. Why yes, you_ can _go fuck yourself_ , Max snickering at the last thought as she slipped into a shower stall and pulled the curtain shut behind her. Max had undressed with the water nearly how she liked it when she came to a stop at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Ugh, Court, you smell like a salon," Victoria Chase said as she walked over to the sink Courtney Wagner had just freed up, "I need to wake and bake. Is it always like this in the Vortex? Fucking late-as-fuck nights and having to deal with Nathan Prescott's bullshit?"

"His family owns most of Arcadia Bay, so yeah. Pretty much…unfortunately," Courtney said, applying her lip gloss, "Look, Vic, you're new. Let me give you some advice, okay?

"Uh-huh," Victoria said, putting toothpaste on her toothbrush.

"We typically give Nathan something of a wide berth. He wants to throw a party? Totally cool, yeah. He wants to bullshit? Okay. But when he tweaks? Fucking _run_."

Max heard the girls whisper but paid it no attention. The water was how she liked it _finally_ , and the only thing she wanted at the moment was not to have "new car smell" as her current body odor. Scrubbing at her skin with the rosemary-sage body wash she had procured from the supermarket back in Seattle, Max took in the calming smell of her soap and bent her head under the water with a content sigh. _Heh, I should have invited Chloe to join_ me _,_ Max thought, her body feeling hotter than it should have under the water at the idea of her and Chloe sharing the shower. _Ooh, a bubble bath like Seattle! Suds, candles, and Chloe in a tub with me. Mmm, hehe._ Barely paying attention outside her train of thought, Max only minimally registered the discussion at the sinks changing to talk of a "new girl" on the floor.

"…she look like? She cool?" Victoria asked, Max's eyes widening as the curiosity began to direct the blonde girl to Max's shower stall. _Fuck! No, Vicky! Stay the hell back! Don't peek, pry, or try to see me naked! Ugh, especially the last bit!_

"She seemed kinda cute, I guess," Courtney said, smiling as she remembered something vital, "Ooh, she had some tattoos! Like, a vine with flowers reaching up her side and butter-"

" _Really_?" Victoria asked, her voice purring with wicked glee as she pulled back the first curtain.

"Victoria? What are you doing?" The worry in Courtney's voice matched Max's internalized dread.

"I just want to greet-"

"Why can't you be nice for a change?" a new voice emerged, a little squeaky but with a tone that bespoke of someone who was good-natured.

Max watched through the small gap between the final shower curtain and the stall wall as Victoria sneered before heading back out into the main bathroom area. _Wowsers, that was_ way _too close. I can't believe it didn't occur to…Dog,_ that's _why Chloe wanted me to come with her. Well, part of it. Dog, I'm so stupid sometimes._

"-off, Kate. Go preach elsewhere," Max heard Victoria say, the little brunette gritting her teeth. _You were never the nicest person, Victoria, but you weren't cruel. That tone is cruel, and you're doing it intentionally._ Shutting the water off, Max heard the bathroom turn silent as she quickly got dressed back into her sleep clothes. _Brushing my teeth can wait a bit, I guess. Someone needs to fucking tell her to back off._

"Why _can't_ you ever be nice, Victoria?" Max asked, repeating Kate's question with a more forceful tone. "You weren't like this in Seattle. Fuck knows if you did we would never have been friends."

Max folded her arms across her chest as she stared down a dumbfounded Victoria. _You knew I was in the stall, Vicky. Why look so surprised? I'm right here. Say something._ Max snorted as Victoria hurriedly made her way out the bathroom, her face reddening with Courtney trailing behind out of curiosity. Smiling kindly at the blonde girl she'd heard stand up for her, Max walked over and stuck out her hand.

"Thanks. I'm Max."

"I'm Kate. Kate Marsh," Kate said, taking Max's hand with a smile to match the brunette's, "Are you a late entry for the school? I could show you around, if you want. I have nothing better to do…"

 _Not even going to ask me how I know Victoria, Kate? Okay, I guess,_ Max thought, making a mental shrug as she flashed Kate an apologetic grin before digging her toothbrush and toothpaste out.

"Sorry. I'm here for the weekend to visit my girlfriend," Max said, smiling apologetically again as Kate watched her with an unreadable expression, "Uh, maybe you know her? She's on this floor."

"…Oh?"

"Chloe Price?"Max smiled as she said her girlfriend's name.

"Oh." Max's cheerful expression fell at the flatness of Kate's tone.

 _This is hella awkward now,_ Max thought as she shrugged and brushed her teeth. Spitting into the sink, Max watched Kate from the corner of her eye as the blonde girl would glance over at her every now and then. _You seem nice, disapprove or whatever about Chloe, then eyeball me when you think I'm not watching. Cute, but a little weird._

"What?" Max asked, putting her toothbrush down as she turned her head to look pointedly at the startled blonde girl.

"What?" Kate uttered, absently repeating Max's question in a more plaintive tone.

" _No_. That's what I said, Kate. Did Chloe do something? Did _I_ do something? I mean, I only just got here so I-"

"No! No, you didn't do anything! I just…," Kate grew very quiet as she held her hands up in apology, "I was surprised, that's all. Chloe's not exactly the sweetest person I know.

"You don't know her that well, then," Max said, the bite in her voice making her wince as she watch the smile on Kate's face drop. "I'm sorry. We're both taking each other's words out of context. I'll see you around?"

"Sure. Have a nice day, Max."

"Same to you, Kate Marsh."

Entering Chloe's room, Max's nose wrinkled at the stench of various car-freshener smells blending together before closing the door behind her. _Ugh_ , Max thought, _Uuugghhhh_. _How the hell does she_ live _in this room, with this smell? Chloe, if we ever move in together_ I _am picking out a LOT of what we have. Swear. To. Dog._ Her attention reverting back to the room in general, Max tossed her hygiene bag next to her suitcase as she knelt down and tried to figure out what she was going to wear. Settling on blue jeans and a grey hoodie, Max pulled out one of her customized black t-shirts and stripped quickly. _Where'd Chloe go, anyway? Figured she'd still be bedridden. Lazy Chlo is lazy, heh._ Pulling her arms through the hoodie's sleeves, Max ran a hand through her hair as she examined herself in the mirror.

"Kathleen Hanna was right," Max spoke aloud the words she had written in Sharpie fabric marker, white lettering standing out against the slightly faded black of her shirt. "I guess I should go and find-"

"Max?" Chloe asked from the hallway, knocking on the door a few times, "You in there?"

"No. There's nobody by that name here." Max smirked as she pressed herself against the door, "Go peddle your Girl Scout cookies somewhere else, kid."

"But I have coffee! I also have… _pancakes_! I'm a hella good girlfriend, Max, so lemme in!" Max jumped back a little at the sound of a boot smacking the door. _How the hell did she knock the first time if she's so loaded down?_ Max snickered at the idea of Chloe balancing a tray on her nose like a seal before pressing herself against the door once more.

"You bribing me, Chloe Price?"

"It working?"

"Of course." Max unlocked the door, opening it to let in a Chloe laden with takeout containers as she strained to keep everything balanced.

Helping Chloe out by taking the steaming Styrofoam cups of coffee, Max set them on Chloe's dresser before helping her girlfriend clear out a space on the floor big enough for them to set the food down and eat. Taking Chloe's proffered spork with a sarcastic bow, Max stabbed at a chunk of pancake and began to nibble on the syrup-drenched breakfast confection. Eating in peaceful silence, Max alternated between a bite for herself and one for Chloe. The bluenette's face lit up after Max fed her the first time, pleased with "the mushiness". Max cringed and rolled her eyes as Chloe messed with her, pretending to feed her before sticking syrupy bits of pancake _around_ Max's mouth rather than in.

"Your aim is terrible, Che. Are you trying to feed me, or turn me into a syrup version of paint-by-numbers?" Max asked, wiping at her face with a napkin reluctantly given to her. "I'm going to have to wash my face again, so thanks for that."

"No desire to return to the bathroom, huh? And my skills are pro so hush. Not my fault if you are my canvas _and_ muse."

"Agh, Chloe! Chloe, stop!" Max giggled as Chloe tried to stick an entire pancake to Max's face, the brunette ducking and dodging like an awkward boxer. "Seriously, cut it out."

"Heh. Soooo…I have a question that is also kind-of a favor, nerd. Can I…can I hear you play your guitar? I ran into Rachel downstairs in the dining hall and she said that you can shred pretty good."

 _Pretty good? You playing down my skills or vaguely insulting me, Rachel? Geez._ Biting down hard on a piece of pancake, Max shrugged before diverting her gaze to avoid Chloe's puppy eyes. _That shit's going to stop working if you keep doing it, Chloe. You must use your gifts for good, not evil._ An evil grin coming across her face, Max leaned forward and looked at Chloe slyly.

"Ask me nicely. Repeat after me…I…"

"…I…"

"Would like you to play for me…"

"Would like you to…Max, is this-"

" _Would like you to play for me_ …" Max grinned as Chloe rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Would like you to _play_ for me, not fuck with me…"

"Hmm, should I allow that? Heh. 'Serenade me, Max…'," Max finished, watching Chloe's face turn bright red as the bluenette looked away with arms crossed.

"Are you fucking kidding me? I'm…pfft, I'm not asking for _that_ , dude," Chloe said with a petulant tone. _Your actions say otherwise, Che. I'm not so much as touching my guitar until you ask me._ Chloe looked out the corner of her eye as Max lazily reached for her coffee and sipped at it with an exaggerated sigh. "Ugh, you're fucking evil, Max. I…I want you to serenade me with your guitar…"

Setting the coffee down, Max leaned over a bit further and kissed Chloe on the cheek with wetted lips.

"That wasn't _too_ hard, now was it? Eheh, sometimes it is nice to hear you be _overly_ sweet. Makes a girl feel special…" Max felt Chloe's cheek warm against her lips even further and turned her girlfriend's face back around so that she could give Chloe a proper kiss on the lips. "You taste like pancake, bad weed, and Chloe. My favorite."

Pulling away from a dazzled Chloe, Max leaned over to where she had set her guitar and amp. Plugging in the small amplifier, Max hooked up the guitar and strummed for a bit as she checked its tuning. Seeing Chloe stare at her, Max blushed at the undivided attention. _Wowsers, she_ really _wanted me to play. I tease, but getting Chloe's attention to this degree is hella weird. She's usually so chill…_

Starting off with Sparklehorse' "Piano Fire", Max watched with a happy smile as Chloe swayed and bobbed her head with the guitar rhythm before the brunette's eyes widened as Chloe began to sing along. Still playing, Max found herself closing her eyes as she listened to Chloe's surprisingly melodic voice match the beat and tone of what she remembered from Sparklehorse's vocalist. _Holy shit. Just…wowsers, Che. Wowsers like hella._ Finishing up the song, Max held onto the last chord for a moment longer before opening her eyes, blue pools leaking as she cried.

"Max? What's wrong?" Chloe asked, putting a hand on Max's shoulder out of concern.

"…You're incredible, Che. You're fucking beautiful. Every time I think I've got you down, you surprise the shit outta me," Max confessed, smiling as she turned her head to kiss the back of Chloe's hand. Seeing Chloe smile impishly from the praise, Max shook her head and giggled. "Another?"

"Hella yes! Also, keep…keep calling me beautiful. I hella don't mind that, babe."

Going through a miniature set list, Max barreled through Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl", Ludo's "Love Me Dead", and finished softly with Lykke Li's "My Love". Chloe opting to not sing along with the songs, Max saw the bluenette lean her chin on her hands as she just sat and listened to the guitar. Getting applause from the bluenette, Max leaned over and met Chloe for a kiss, slipping her girlfriend some tongue for a moment before seeing Chloe's eyes turn serious. Pulling back, Max looked at Chloe with a quizzical expression.

"Max, do you mind if I ask you something?" Chloe asked as Max strummed along on her guitar in one of the camp chairs.

"Uh, yeah? I guess so." _I don't like that tone. That's a "serious business" tone, Chloe. Don't go after-school special on me. Not now. I just want to enjoy the look I saw in your eyes as I played._

"What…What exactly sets your Mom off? I mean, I get that the violence has been heavy for a while. She just up and traumatizes you, or is there a build-up? I guess I'm asking because I'm scared for you, babe. I just don't like the idea of someone taking a hand to my Max, dude."

"…Well, the abbreviated version of the list you're asking for goes something like this," Max said as she pulled out a joint and lit it up, seeing Chloe's worrying look and choosing to ignore it, "Booze, lack of job right after getting downsized, feeling alone in the house with me in school and Dad at work, booze, new job not being fulfilling enough, new-new job not paying as much as the first, and so on. All of it took a toll, my dad the first to feel it as she drew away from him when she wasn't yelling about ' _unfair'_ and whatever. Wasn't his goddamn fault, y'know?" Max became silent for a couple minutes after that, her face stony as she smoked her pot and handed Chloe a joint.

"I told you about the first time being an accident. The other times weren't. It was like I couldn't do anything to make her happy. She always felt bad, but she felt bad _after the fact_. Like, why couldn't she feel bad when the thought was still occurring or right before she hit me? Fucking bitch's response was to always try and buy my affection, apologizing her ass off, with the aftermath over every swing and I swear to Dog that she acted like the presents were doing their thing. I tossed them after the first one, of course, because I figured out _why_ I was getting them pretty quickly. The abuse wasn't always physical, though. A lot of it was this bullshit she would say to undermine something I was doing or my feelings towards a thing or person. I-If she was sorry, she never would have hit me. _Period_."

"Max…I am so, _so_ sorry that you ever had to go through anything like that," Chloe said. Max knew that the girl wanted to come over and hug her, but Chloe was kind enough to leave her with the space she needed. _Thanks, Che. Knowing to leave me be right now means more than trying to pounce on me with hugs. Not everything can be solved that easily, though I'd love it if the case were different._

"Can we…can we talk about something else, Che? M-My anxiety is s-starting to pick u-up…" Max felt her vision dim as her breathing became fast and shallow. Taking a deep breath to try and reassert her calm, Max let the breath out in a controlled exhale and closed her eyes as she absently continued plucking at the guitar. Smiling at an old memory, Max began to play the opening theme of _Metroid_ and heard Chloe laugh as she began to calm down. Thinking of how they had watched _Scott Pilgrim_ last night, Max went into "Threshold" before opening her eyes back up. Her head aching slightly from the surge and crash of blood pressure from her anxiety, Max unslung the guitar and set it back in its case as she disconnected it from the portable amplifier. "What're we up to today?"

"Well…we could go to Two Whales for lunch…? I mean, there _really_ isn't much to do in this hick-hole, Maxaroni, but I'm sure we can come up with some good shit. There's always, ugh, The Pier…"

"The Pier? I don't remember that. Do you mean an _actual_ pier…?" Max's brow furrowed as Chloe made a disgusted noise.

"No. It's this little hangout shit-pit along the beachfront. An alcohol-free club for minors or whatever. It has a small arcade, some pool tables, a few TVs. I mean, it _can_ be fun. Problem is who owns the fucking place."

"Uh, do I want to ask?"

"The Prescott family. Their devil spawn Nathan is _always_ there, trying to score or sell shit. He's an ass, and crazy." Chloe pulled her beanie off and scratched at her head.

"Your roots are showing, Che," Max said, reaching over to rub Chloe's scalp, her girlfriend making a purring noise, as she thought things over. "If I be your bodyguard, could we at least check it out? There's _got_ to be more stuff in Arcadia Bay than when I left. If there isn't, I want to know how you freeze an entire town in time."

Max climbed out of Chloe's truck as they parked in the Two Whales parking lot. Situated across the street from where the beachfront properties started, Max and Chloe felt that it made sense because they would be having lunch at the diner. Max enjoyed the slight breeze as it played with the fringe of chestnut hair that was sticking out of her beanie. Both girls dressed somewhat the same, Max had snickered when she had seen herself and her girlfriend in Chloe's mirror back at Blackwell.

Saying that they looked cute, Max had yanked down on Chloe's beanie so that the bluenette couldn't take it off. Slipping on the brown leather jacket she had bought with Max in Seattle, Chloe had ushered Max out into the hall before locking her door. Stuffing her hands in her pockets, Max had playfully skipped backwards to the stairway entrance before stopping as Chloe went over to Rachel's door. _What about me?_ popped into Max's head, but she suppressed the single pang of jealousy as Chloe sighed and headed over to her.

"I'm not enough woman for you?" Max asked, her voice giving away her disappointment. _I'd like some alone time with you, Chloe. You wanted it with me in Seattle, so why can't I have it with you?_

"Enough and then some, Maxaroni," Chloe said, wrapping her arm around Max's shoulders in obliviousness to Max's tone, "Just thought Rachel might like to tag along. She's out though…with Frank. Ugh."

"Her boyfriend?"

"A fucking creepy asshole is what he is. Sure, he's the _only_ person around here with half-decent pot, but he's so skeezy. Lives in an RV that smells like something left over from _Breaking Bad._ He is 'The One Who Skeezes'," Chloe said, not bothering to hide her disgust as the descended the stairs.

* * *

Holding Chloe's hand as they made their way along the sidewalk, Max felt only a little bad at how thankful she was that Rachel was nowhere to be found. _'I just wish Rachel were here_ '? Fuck _that_. I _want some quality time alone, too. You don't get to just drop me as you see fit, Chloe._ Max screwed her face up as she tried to figure out where the animosity was coming from. _Rachel was really nice to me yesterday, and Chloe's been wonderful. Why do I feel so angry at them, of all people? What the fuck, Max?_

"That's it over there. That old cannery." Looking up from her feet, Max followed the direction Chloe was pointing and saw a bright red building sitting near the waterfront, one side of it right up on the shore. The sign had been vandalized, "The Pier" turned into "The Pit" and Max couldn't help but glance at Chloe from her peripheral vision. Max shrugged, thinking that she didn't really care _what_ the place was called as they slowly progressed towards the structure.

"Is it even open?" Max asked, squinting to see if there was any sign of life. "Are the windows smoked or something?"

"Yes and yes. Place opens up at ten, and it's nearly 11 now. They serve snack food and sodas hella early, but the stuff never seems to be all that fresh. Don't trust it, Max. The MSG only makes you want to go back for _more_!" Chloe went in to tickle Max at " _more!_ " and was rewarded with the brunette squirming from her touch.

"Agh! _Chloe_! What will the other pedestrians think? Quit it, agh!" Max squirmed out from Chloe's hands and began to run ahead of the bluenette. "No! Nooooo!"

Chloe had caught up with her after only a couple seconds' head start. _Stupid tall-ass dork! Stupid lanky legs! Stupid…stupid!_ Max giggled prematurely as Chloe's hands began to reach for her again only to slap at Chloe's chest when the bluenette went for a hug instead of tickle torture. Her cheery expression fading, Max couldn't help but feel like this was all fleeting. It wasn't the limited time she had with Chloe that was the problem; it was the fact that when Max left Chloe would have Rachel. _Rachel doesn't even_ like _Chloe like that, and I don't think Chloe likes her as more than a friend. They're just so close. I feel like I have to play catch-up to keep myself interesting…_

"What is this bubblegum shit?" Max asked, her head tilted to one side, pop music playing through the club's PA system as they went inside. "Seriously, I will get cancer from this music. It feels familiar, painful like how you remember a visit to the dentist sometimes when you floss."

"Heh," Chloe snorted, an impish grin on her face as she laughed at Max's remark, "Eheheh. I…I have no idea, babe. Just tune it out and maybe it will go away."

"But if the whole song plays, the Slender Man might appear," Max chided, rolling her eyes with a "never mind" as she saw the confused look on Chloe's face. _Rachel would know, heh. Then again, she probably tells Chloe the same kind of jokes. Ugh, stop…being…jealous!_ "So, now what?"

"You tell me, Max. You're the one who wanted to check this place out, dude!"

Scanning the club, Max eyeballed the video arcade section and dragged Chloe behind her as they made their way to the games. Dropping a $10 into the change converter, Max smacked at the machine when it didn't let loose with her quarters right away. Smacking the machine again finally bearing fruit, Max took what she guessed were about half of the collected change and handed them to Chloe before taking the rest for herself. _House of the Dead, Mortal Kombat, DDR – The person who picks these has taste in gaming, at least._ Seeing some people gathered over at the DDR machine, Max jerked her chin towards the small crowd and Chloe tagged along behind.

"…You're so good at that, Vic! Color me fucking surprised!" Max heard a boy shout over the game's pounding music as she and Chloe approached. _Fuck. I forgot that Victoria is a closet weeaboo. Not so closeted now, I guess._ "Uh, who the fuck are you?"

"Nathan, who the fuck… _oh_. _You._ " Victoria's eyes narrowed at Max as the brunette and bluenette saddled up along the side not occupied by what Max assumed was the Vortex Club she had heard about in the bathroom.

"Yes. _Me._ Nice to see that your skills are pretty up-to-date, Vicky," Max teased the blonde, Victoria looking away in mild embarrassment as the other Vortex members assembled looked at Max with curiosity. "I still prefer the machine on 7th street back at GameWorks, but at least you can get your dance on here. Care to play me?"

"I will fucking _trounce_ you, Caulfield. And it is _Victoria_ , not Vicky," Victoria said, eyeballing Max and Chloe before muttering "You don't get to call me that anymore" so that only Max could hear it.

"Challenger's pick, like before?"

"Knock yourself out, Max. Seriously, go fucking knock yourself out."

"Fuck you, too. Lemme see…heh, how's this?" Max slapped on the start button at "Tender Sugar (Remix)" and kicked her sneakers off. Victoria followed suit by taking her own shoes off.

The music and lighting of the machine began to go off, arrows and "Perfect!" coming down one after the other as both girls tried to out-dance the other. _You're good, Vicky, but_ I'm _the one who introduced you to this game! Prepare for my Maximum Victory!_ Max began to bring her whole body into the dancing, only to look over in surprise as Victoria matched her move for move. Smiling, Max found herself and Victoria getting lost in the beat as they smiled at each other like when they had still been friends. _Why couldn't you have been my friend? Why'd you get so fucking mean? Look at us, Vicky, look at us play like when we were younger. This is fun, this is friendship._ Hearing the siren blare as the song came to an end, Max and Victoria panted slightly before looking over at the screen. Max couldn't help but laugh as she saw that she had _barely_ been able to squeak past Victoria, 97 percent to her competitor's 94.

"You got better," Max said, her tone amused by also endearing as Victoria bowed, "Not too fucking shabby…"

Both girls suddenly became aware of the passage of time and where they were. Adjusting her cashmere sweater, Victoria scooped up her shoes and walked off with the other Vortex members as Chloe watched Max. A dark look on the bluenette's face, Max realized that Chloe was upset as her girlfriend shied away from Max's touch.

"Can we…can we just fuck this place and go to Two Whales or something?" Chloe asked, her arms crossed against her chest as she looked down at her boots, "I don't really feel like playing anything now…"

"Chloe…" Max said, sliding her sneakers back on, "Che, you have _nothing_ to be jealous about. It was a game. That's it."

"…didn't look like it…" Max heard Chloe's grumbled response and pried one of Chloe's arms loose. Taking the blue-nailed hand into her own, Max lifted it up and kissed each of Chloe's fingers.

" _I'm_ the one hella jealous, Che," Max said, Chloe's eyes looking up from where her head was still tilted downward, confused, "…I see how chill Rachel is, and how close you two are. I…I'm scared that you'll get along fine without me after I head back to Seattle…and I know it's wrong…"

"Dude! That would _never_ happen! You're my Max, nerd! I'll _always_ be better with you than without," Chloe said, bringing a hand to Max's cheek, "Fuck. We're quite the couple, huh? Get jealous and don't say shit…"

"So you _were_ jealous…"

"…I know you and Victoria were friends. She told me at The Skylark back in July," Chloe said, wrapping Max in a hug, "Were you ever…"

" _W-What_? No, Chloe. Ugh, no. She was really cool for a while, then she just suddenly wasn't," Max shrugged, her face buried in Chloe's shirt to hide the sad look in her eyes, "I tried to figure out what happened, but she was just hostile after that so I gave up. Why would you think that? You do remember I'm _demi_ , right? I was close to her, but not _that_ close."

"…Well…" Chloe's faraway look piqued Max's interest, then the brunette's eyes widened as she looked over to where the Vortex Club had clustered around a pool table and back to Chloe.

"… _She_ liked _me_? L-Like _that_?"

"…Yeah…" Chloe's tone was one of a person testing the waters, gauging Max's reaction.

"Uh… _wowsers_ …" Max's jaw hung open a little, she closed it back up with a shrug as she wrapped her arms tighter around Chloe. "I'm with you, dork, so quit worrying."

"I'll quit worrying when I've got a ring on dat finger," Chloe said, Max laughing in surprise.

"This escalated quickly," Max said, amusement in her tone and on her face as she stood on her tip-toes to give Chloe a kiss, "Trying to keep me forever, huh?"

"Tryin'."

"You don't need to try, Che. Just do it. C'mon. Let's get out of here." Max took her girlfriend's hand and led Chloe out of The Pier, glancing over at Victoria with a pained expression when Chloe wasn't looking. _You ditched me because I would only_ ever _be your friend, Vicky. I wish you hadn't…_

* * *

Lunch at Two Whales went off without a hitch. Max had surprised Joyce by ordering the crab cakes and French fries. Chloe ordered a cheeseburger and tried to pick at Max's fries before ordering her own when the brunette playfully slapped Chloe's reaching fingers away. Talking between mouthfuls, Max and Chloe devised a plan to go back to Blackwell for Max's stash before heading up to the lighthouse to bake and relax before heading back to Joyce's for dinner. Chloe had tried to protest, but when Joyce told the girls that David was going to be at work that evening the bluenette's face had lit up in joy. One "Hella yes!" later, and the plan was cemented with a nod from Joyce as both girls grinned when she walked away with the bill and their cash. Now at Blackwell, both girls felt satisfied and playful after a pleasant meal with the promise of more time together.

"Dude. _Duuuuude_ ," Chloe said as she pulled Max along down the hallway of her dorm, "I'm-a gonna bake-a you a pie…or something. I'm hella skilled in the kitchen, yo!"

"The idea of you and cooking is a little mortifying, Chloe," Max said, her mind wandering back to when Chloe had made them breakfast. _Charred when alone, great when with William or Joyce. I like my pie fresh, Chloe, not freshly arrived from a nuclear blast._ "Only if you promise adult supervision."

"I _am_ an adult."

"Pfft, you sure? Seriously, Joyce monitors or no-go."

"Ugh, _fine._ You have no faith in me, Max Caulfield. You suck." Chloe stuck out her tongue and leapt back with a yelp as Max's head darted forward with her jaws snapping. "My tongue is _not_ on the menu!"

"You _sure_ about that?" Chloe bit her lip at Max's playful smile, both girls stopping halfway down the hall as they proceeded to make out in the dorm hallway. Stopping with Chloe's eyes still closed in kissing bliss, Max ran past the bluenette and made it to the door before remembering that Chloe had locked it. "Shit!"

"Forgetting something?" Chloe dangled her keys in front of Max's face before she unlocked the door, "God, Max, you can be such a spaz…"

Both girls stopped in their tracks as the sound of a violin playing began to echo through the empty hall. Having assumed they were alone on the floor, Chloe and Max looked at each other curiously as the music continued. Recognizing the song, Max went inside Chloe's room and came back out with her guitar. Turning on the micro amp built into the guitar and plugging the guitar into a wall socket, Max began to strum along to the violin's rendition of Apocalyptica's "Worlds Collide". The violin halting in mid-beat, Max continued playing as she essentially goaded the violin to start up. Instead, Max was rewarded with a bemused Kate Marsh poking her head out from behind her door.

"Uh, Max?" Kate asked before seeing the guitar in Max's hands, "That's you?"

"Hey, Kate," Max said, following up her greeting by belting out the final notes of the song. "Guilty as charged. You're so good, I felt I had to join in. Where'd you learn to play like that?"

"My…My family had me take lessons when I was little and I never really stopped," Kate said, pulling back so that her eyes and hair bun were the only thing sticking out from behind the door. _She's so cute_ , Max said with a faint smile on her face. "What about you? You're pretty good, Max."

"A few lessons, but mostly self-taught."

"Wow. Oh," Kate said, seeing Chloe watching them from the blue-haired girl's doorway, "Uh, hi Chloe."

"She speaks," Chloe said, pointing at herself teasingly, "Hey, Kate. Coming out from your hobbit hole?"

Kate blushed at Chloe's joke and quickly told them both bye as she retreated into her room and locked the door behind her. Turning to look at Chloe with a confused look on her face, Max got a shrug from her girlfriend in return before joining the bluenette. _Again, cute but weird. She plays beautifully, though. She's shy like I am, only she seems to be_ constantly _shy. Glad I'm not like that. Well, not_ always _like that._

Setting her guitar in its case, Max rifled through her suitcase until she had a small bag with four joints in hand. Winking at an excited Chloe, Max stuffed the baggie in one of her hoodie's pockets before jumping at the sound of Chloe's door being pounded on.

"Chloe? Chloe, open the door," David Madsen said in an irritated voice, Chloe gesturing for Max to hide.

 _My stuff is everywhere_ , Max mouthed at Chloe before rolling her eyes in exasperation. Max shoved herself into the small closet set against the wall. Closing the door as much as she could, Max peered out through the small crack she had left and watched as David barged past Chloe. Wearing the uniform of a security guard, David started to scan the bluenette's room to Max's fully realized terror. _Chloe lives at a school her stepdad is a security guard at? Jesus fuck, Chloe, what fresh hell have you found yourself in now?_

"Whose stuff is all this?" David asked, his tone demanding as he gestured to Max's random piles of clothing and laptop.

"It's a guest's who is none of your concern, _David_ ," Chloe spat out, her tone venomous, "Dude, you can't just bust in here whenever you feel like it. You might work here, but I live here. Thanks for that, by the way. Nice to be kicked out of my own fucking house."

"…I didn't _kick you out_ , Chloe. Your mother and I just want you to get used to not living at the house. You graduate next spring and we only want-"

" _No_. _You_ want me out. Mom was fine with me being home, and we both know it. _You_ pushed her into it, you asshole. You treat the house like it's yours, but Mom's name is on the lease. Joyce _Price_ , not Madsen." _Chloe, don't push him. He looks hella pissed,_ Max thought as she saw one of David's hands begin to clench and unclench. _No you don't, motherfucker. You will_ not _hit her, whether she's goading you or not._

"Chloe, you will treat me with-" David started to say, his voice shaking with anger before he let out a scream of pain.

Still having her camera bag slung over her shoulder, Max having grabbed it right before she had disappeared into the closet, the brunette pulled out a small, single-shot bottle of mace and sprayed the contents into David Madsen's eyes as he looked to hit Max's girlfriend. Seeing Chloe look on in shock, Max stepped forward as she sprayed David's face, the security guard crying out as he fell back onto Chloe's bad.

" _Stay the fuck away from her, you asshole! If you_ ever _hit her, if you so much as touch her without her say so, I will fucking_ end you _!"_ Max yelled, her teeth bared before she grabbed Chloe's hand and ran out the door with the bluenette in tow. Hearing David swear as he stumbled out the doorway, Max and Chloe were already halfway down the hall as Kate watched with a shocked look on her face. Max looked back at David when she and Chloe reached to stairway door, her expression one of fury. " _Don't you_ ever _fucking touch her!"_

* * *

Chloe had been utterly silent the entire drive to the lighthouse, leaving a simmering Max alone with her thoughts. Mixing up her emotions of being struck by her mother and what she assumed were countless times Chloe had come close to being hit by David, Max was fuming the entire way with her jaw clenched. Being absentmindedly led up the path by Chloe, Max had vaguely heard the bluenette talking to her mom on the phone. _Something about how I had sprayed David in the face with pepper spray to stop him from hitting Chloe? Oh my Dog, did I actually_ do that _?_ Max thought as she became aware of where they were. _When did we get to the park? We're headed to the lighthouse? I must've blacked out or something_ …

"Uh, C-Chloe? Chloe, you can stop dragging me now," Max said in a meek voice, startling Chloe as she was still on the phone with her mom.

"Hey Mom? Max is snapping out of it, so I'll see you tonight okay? No, I know you're not mad at us but I'm worried he'll fucking trash my room and rage at us if he comes home. You'll talk to him, tell him to back down? Okay. Uh-huh, love you too," Chloe said as she ended the call and slid her phone into her jacket pocket, "Oh my God, Max. Dude…let's talk when we get up to the hilltop, okay?"

Max had nodded, Chloe having let go of her hand entirely as they silently marched up the hill towards the lighthouse. Reaching the bench where they had sat together back in July, Max slowly took her seat as Chloe plopped down. Feeling incredibly awkward, Max started to turn her head in Chloe's direction when the bluenette grabbed her by the face and pulled Max in for a long, passionate kiss. Her eyes wide in surprise, Max was caught unawares and pulled back to gasp as she was out of breath.

"Sorry," Chloe said, admonishing herself as she looked at Max with a wide-eyed grin, "Dude… _Max_ , no one has _ever_ stood up for me like that. You…you saved me. I'm still kinda in shock about it."

"I-I don't remember. I mean, not all of it together," Max said, fidgeting with her hands as she looked down at them, "It's like everything at the school is in bits and pieces. I remember David looking like he was going to hit you, then I ran out of the closet…everything else is a blur. He didn't hit you, did he?!" Max reached over to check Chloe's face, satisfied that there wasn't any sign of a bruise or cut.

"I'm fine, Max. Shook up, a little freaked, but fine. You're my hero, Max Caulfield! Praise the Max!"

Chloe fell on top of Max, Max gulping at how Chloe's smiling face was only inches away from hers. Pulling off Max's beanie with her teeth, Chloe leaned down and kissed Max as they squirmed on the bench to find a comfortable position. Max felt a moan escape her lips as Chloe reached under her and shirt and pressed a hand against Max's breast, feeling fingers slide beneath the underwire. Gasping as the cool fingers brushed against her nipple, Max bit at Chloe's lip and wrapped a leg up and around Chloe's waist. Hooking her leg around Chloe, Max slipped her hands in the seat of Chloe's jeans, exploring the waistline of Chloe's boxers as her fingers played with the stretchy waistband.

Lost in their swelling lust, Max and Chloe shut out the world as they focused only on each other. Slowly rising from Max, both girls panting, Chloe helped Max up and pulled the brunette along as she backpedaled toward the abandoned shed set next to the lighthouse. _I'm not so sure about that impish look, Chloe Price_ , Max thought before realizing that she had the same look on her face. Seeing Chloe bite her lip as her eyes hungrily took Max in, Max felt her heart race. Moving to walk under her own momentum, Max crossed the space between herself and Chloe to crash into her girlfriend's lips as she pushed the taller girl into the shed's door. Shoving her hand into the seat of Chloe's pants once more, Max slid all the way into the bluenette's boxers and grabbed Chloe's cheeks.

" _Ffffuck_ ," Chloe uttered in a husky tone, eyes rolling into her head as she let out a strained whimper. Biting her lip, Chloe breathed heavily as she gazed into Max's eyes. "Don't stop."

"Say please," Max teased, her eyes lit up with mischievous glee.  
"Fucking _please_ don't stop, Max." Chloe leaned in to kiss Max but the brunette pulled her head back so Chloe came just inches short of her lips' destination. "You goddamn tease. Where's my nerd?"

"Here."

Max kicked the door between Chloe's legs and shoved the bluenette inside, kicking the door shut as she followed Chloe inside. Flipping the light switch and getting nothing in return, Max huffed before feeling Chloe's breath on her neck. _Ooh, you creepin' shit!_ Max giggled as she made to turn her head toward the source of heat only to feel hands keep her in place. Max moaned as Chloe's hands explored her body, fingers reaching through the fabric of Max's shirt and jeans before cool fingers grasped onto Max's collar and pulled the girl up into a wet kiss. Feeling a hot tongue slide into her mouth, Max brought her hands up to where Chloe's face was and cupped the other girl in her hands.

"…Now?" Chloe asked, panting between kisses.

"…Umm…" Max said, hesitating in mid-kiss as the idea of losing her virginity to Chloe in a decrepit toolshed suddenly became _very_ unappealing, "Don't…don't take this the wrong way, Che, but a dump like this is _not_ where I want to give myself over to you. Please don't hate me."

Feeling Chloe's breath on her face, Max tried to envision the look on Chloe's face through the darkness before soft lips melted into her own. One kissed turned into two, then three, before Chloe pulled away from her. Her hands outstretched, Max fumbled in the darkness for a moment before the shed door creaked as Chloe opened it. Her t-shirt crumpled from Max's grasping hands, her beanie partially hanging off her head, Chloe was breathing hard with a smile on her face.

"As you wish, Max," Chloe said, offering her hand to the brunette as Max's eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. "How about we blaze and plan our honeymoon?"

"Heh, Chloe. I love you. I really love you."

"You better, hippie. I don't make out with _everybody_ , you know. Just…I just want you, Max. Only you," Chloe's voice became very quiet as Max slipped into her arms, "I'll never leave you."

"I'll never stop loving you, Chloe Price. Not ever."

 **Author's Note –**

 **Whew.**

 **400,000+ words! Woo-hoo!**

 **So, likin' this new take on Max? A blend of cute, shy, a riot grrrl, and our favorite cliché geek! I'm not a proud person, but I** _ **really**_ **like this new spin on Max. It pays to bridge away from the canon and create something fresh.**

 **Imagine how Chloe's dorm room (Did you notice where her room is in located? She has Max's room in the game! lol) must smell with all those different car-fresheners. New Car Smell, Pine, Strawberry, stuff like that – Max's clothes are going to smell terrible when they get back to Blackwell, heh.**

 **Thanks to those who are giving this new spin on our Pricefield gaybies a chance. I'd like to think I'm not letting anybody down so far, and I hope that this story is up to task in comparison to the preceding** _ **Teenage Dirtbag**_ **.**

 **Read, review, and I'll see you for Part 3,** _ **You Drive Me Wild,**_ **song by The Runaways**

 **Stay hella, Cinnamon Rolls!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wake Me Up When September Ends**

 **Part Three – You Drive Me Wild**

 **Song by The Runaways**

 **Warning: This chapter contains NSFW content. View at your own discretion. If you don't like sex-related content, skim until you're past it. Don't leave me a review that is nothing but your not liking the sex stuff. That's nothing but rude and I'll be tempted to block you.**

The storm had hit just when Max and Chloe had reached the bottom of the hill. Receiving only a single crash of thunder as warning, both girls had hurled obscenities into the air as the ensuing downpour began to drench them both. Sprinting to Chloe's truck, Max slammed her passenger door shut as Chloe jumped into her seat so quickly that her head landed in Max's lap. Laughing, Max had ran her hand through Chloe's mess of wet blue hair as Chloe joined her in the mirth. Watching as Chloe turned herself around, Max beaned at the look of child-like glee on her girlfriend's face. _You're really perfect sometimes, Chloe. You don't know this, but a smile from you_ _like the one I'm seeing now can last me forever if need be._

Pulling her knees up, Max watched as Chloe's head was lifted toward her until she was kissing the bluenette with their rain-soaked hair plastering each other's faces. Tasting rain and Chloe, Max put a hand to Chloe's jawline and rubbed her thumb along it as she continued the kiss. Pulling away to take a breath, Max saw what she was looked initially to be rain on Chloe's face. Taking a moment to gaze into her girlfriend's eyes, Max realized that Chloe was crying.

"Chloe? Chloe, what's wrong?" Max asked, getting a warm grin in reply.

"Nothing's wrong, babe. A lady can't be happy _and_ cry?" Chloe asked, putting her hand on Max's as she intertwined their fingers together.

"You keep mentioning this lady. I'm gonna get jealous. That, or really fucking confused," Max chided teasingly, Chloe shaking her head in response with a look of slight irritation.

"Max, I'm serious. I'm…I'm happy. You're here, with me, and we're together. Never mind the lighthouse and how…how great that had been. Just you being here is amazeballs, dude. Don't kill the moment with your awkward need to deflect into humor."

 _Whoa_ , Max thought, _What a way to cut through me, Che. I…I don't deflect. I'm just joking around. What's the harm in joking? I can't tease?_ Max sat in contemplative silence, completely unaware that Chloe was watching her. _Do I deflect? I mean, is joking really that bad? I thought you liked my sense of humor, Che. W-Why would I avoid anything? I don't have any-_

"Earth to Max. Come in, Max." Snapping out of her thoughts with Chloe's baiting, Max blinked her eyes a few times before looking back down at a concerned Chloe. "Dude, I didn't mean to fucking shut you down. I was just trying to be serious."

"For cereal? You?" Max said, biting her lip as she caught herself trying to deflect, "Ugh, I'm sorry. I guess my defenses are still pretty high, Che. I know what you mean, though. I'm happy to be here too, my lovely Che nestled in my lap."

Seeing Chloe respond by pretending to yawn as she closed her eyes with a look of pleasure and contentment, Max stroked her girlfriend's hair before noticing that Chloe's booted feet were getting pounded on by the rainfall. Looking down to see Chloe's head in her lap, Max shrugged and continued to stroke her girlfriend's hair. _Thank you, Chloe, for being loving enough to hold off a bit longer. I know that things got hella steamy up there. I_ really _want you, too. I also want it to not be in something that could pass for a meth lab._ Leaning down, Max kissed Chloe on the forehead and watched with delight as Chloe pretended to suddenly awaken.

"Oh, is it 'Chlo White' now?" Max joked, Chloe's sweet grin the only reply she needed. "I don't want to be a handsome prince, Che."

"Then be my amazeballs SuperMax. Shredding guitar faster than a speeding poser, able to mace douchebag assfuckers with a single spray, more hella than a locomotive! _Suuuper Max_!"

"And you call _me_ a nerd!"

"You _are_ a nerd, Max Caulfield. I'm just cool as fuck."

"You're something 'as fuck', alright. Not so sure about 'cool', though," Max said as she pushed her knees all the way to her chest so Chloe had no choice but to sit up, "Time to head back, Che."

"Awwwww…" Chloe's pout was answered with a kiss from Max, the brunette following up by kissing Chloe on the nose. "Max, I was _so_ comfy…"

"Let's _go_ , Che. We can be _hella_ comfy at your house, brat." Sticking out her tongue at Chloe, the other girl having started it with her own show of disappointment, Max giggled as Chloe begrudgingly started her truck up and headed out of the lighthouse parking lot. _Never change, Chloe._ Pulling her Polaroid out, Max snapped a shot of her angst-ridden girlfriend just in time to catch a middle finger aimed at her. _Never change._

Max smiled amusedly as Chloe practically ran into the door, both girls trying to cross the front yard through the downpour as quickly as possible. _Holy shit, you can't even tell that it's still daytime_ , Max thought as she looked out the window, Chloe shutting the door behind them. _Wowsers, it's so dark outside._ Turning around, Max blushed as Chloe took her hoodie and hung it next to her own soaked jacket. _Why are you being all formal and shit, Chloe Price? What are you thinking in that dyed brain of yours?_

Looking at the empty hallway, Max told Chloe she would be right back as she headed upstairs. Unlocking the bedroom door, Max slipped into what was currently _her_ bedroom and immediately locked the door behind her. Opening the luggage she had left at the house, Max began to search through each one. _Where the fuck are you? I know you're around here somewhere. Dog, if I left it at home, of_ all _the times to fucking leave something back in Seattle, I will flip my shit._ Feeling a small velvet pouch, Max clutched at it as she yanked her hand out of the duffel bag and stuffed the small bag into her back pocket. _Muahahaha_ , Max grinned as she imagined the look Chloe would have plastered on her face later tonight. _Tonight,_ I _am the master._

Hearing someone come in through the front door as she locked the bedroom door, Max peered down the stairway but couldn't make out who had just come inside. Fidgeting at the memory of David's face reddening under the spray of her mace, Max's memory having cleared up, the brunette felt a knot of dread tighten in her stomach. _Maybe I should just wait up here for someone to say something_ , Max thought to herself. Turning around to unlock the bedroom door, Max heard footsteps coming up the stairs and fumbled with the key.

"Max?" a girl's voice asked, Max's fear dissipating as the friendly tone echoed through her mind. _Thank Dog._

"Rachel, you scared the fuck out of me," Max said, turning around to wrap the taller girl in a tight hug, "Seriously, hella scared right here."

"…Did you think I was David?" Rachel asked, her tone a mix of worry and amusement as she met Max's hug with one of her own, "Max, I know I can stomp sometimes, but I'm not _that_ bad. Shit. Haven't seen you all day! You…You doing better, Maxaroni?"

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, I am." Replying with a faint stutter, Max kissed her friend on the cheek and was met with one back before both girls pulled back from the other, Rachel a little red in the face, "How's…uh, Chloe told me his name, I swear…"

"Frank? Wow," Rachel said, eyebrows raised in surprise, "I'm surprised she even said his _name_ , much less said it to you. He's fine. C'mon. I think Joyce has dinner ready."

"Chloe invite you?" Max asked, gesturing for Rachel to go ahead of her. "She, uh, she tell you what happened at the dorm?"

"Her, Kate, a couple other girls," Rachel said, looking back at Max with an appraising eye, "You really fucking stuck it to David, Max. Good on you, and good for Chloe. She needs someone like you in her life, someone who will always look out for her."

"U-Uh…," Max stuttered, blushing at the image of 'Chlo White' from her and Chloe's discussion back in the truck, "You're here too, though, so it's not like she doesn't have _any_ backup. Right?"

"I'm not always able to pay her the attention she needs, Max. I'm not her girlfriend. That's you. I love her, of course, but you're in love with her."

"Dudes, are you two going to just lady-bro it up over there or are you going to fucking chow with us?" Chloe asked from the dining room table, "I will eat all your portions, Max! You know what I'm capable of, nerd!"

Hearing Joyce chide her daughter, Max and Rachel giggled as they hooked arms and strolled down the hall together. _Chloe's lucky to have you as such a good friend, Rachel. I hope that we can be as close someday, too. Kristen's great, and Fernando's funny, but you're more on my wavelength. Music, style, attitude; we even play some of the same video games._

"Rachel?" Max halted just around the corner from where Chloe and Joyce were starting to fix their plates up. Seeing the humored look on Rachel's face, Max bit at her lip in embarrassment. "Um, will you be my friend? Like, well-"

"Max, we're _already friends_. You need to chill and let things just flow, dude," Rachel replied, Max feeling assured as the taller girl squeezed her hand gently, "Now come _on_ , before Chloe eats all the food _and_ the dining room furniture."

 _Oh my Dog, Joyce made a pot pie,_ Max thought as she took the seat next to Chloe, kissing the bluenette on the cheek affectionately before moving to fix up her own plate. _Price family pot pie. Pie…in a pot, full of deliciousness. Om nom NOM_. Seeing a friendly smile on Joyce's face, Max realized she was staring at her own plateful of food and promptly started to dig in. _I can't remember the last time I sat down at a dinner table for a home-cooked meal_ , Max pondered as she took a bite of Joyce's pot pie. Closing her eyes in delight, Max thought her eyes might roll up into their sockets and stay there as the flakiness and savory taste of the pot pie made her mouth and stomach warm as she swallowed the morsel. Opening her eyes, Max deftly blocked her girlfriend's reaching fork with her own. Shooting Chloe a menacing, playful look, Max and Chloe both looked away out of awkwardness as Joyce and Rachel chuckled at their playfulness.

"You two have fun today? Do anything exciting in big ol' Arcadia Bay?" Joyce asked, sipping at her coffee while Max nearly choked on her water. _I nearly did your daughter_ , Max thought, biting her tongue to stop herself from blurting out the words.

"Max played her guitar for me," Max heard Chloe say with some pride in the bluenette's voice, "My girlfriend is pretty hardcore. We chilled at The Pit-"

"So that _was_ you who spray-painted on the sign!" Max cried out, laughing as Chloe puffed out her chest.

"Damn straight, grrrl! Gotta represent! _Anyway,_ like I was saying-"

"Chloe sang!" Max blurted out, the house becoming suddenly very quiet, "U-Uh, she's really beautiful."

Max felt her face get incredibly hot before looking over to see Chloe look at her with glistening eyes. _Oh no. Was I not supposed to say anything? Chloe, do you keep your singing a secret?_ Max was about to speak when Chloe leaned over and kissed Max on the lips, the brunette feeling the extra warmth of her girlfriend blend with her own. _I guess it was okay, then._

"Babe," Max said, putting a hand on Chloe's cheek, "You are amazing and beautiful and I can't _not_ tell people. Sorry…sorry if it embarrasses you, Che."

"You called me beautiful," Chloe said, her voice soft as Rachel and Joyce got up from their seats to give the suddenly-gushing couple a moment to themselves, "You…you called my singing beautiful."

"I've done so before, Che," Max said, smiling as Chloe's thumb rubbed against her cheek, "Why are you getting all mushy on me?"

"Shut the fuck up, Max, and just follow me-"

 _SLAM!_

Max and Chloe jumped as an argument suddenly roared from the hallway, Max's eyes narrowing in near-perfect sync with Chloe's as David came charging through. The skin around his eyes flush with the irritant of pepper spray, his eyes bloodshot, David Madsen made a beeline for Max and grabbed the brunette _hard_ by the forearm. Max let out a faint cry at the surprisingly intense amount of pain as David's fingers felt like they were digging through her skin and into the muscle. _Agh, lemme go! Let…me.._ GO _!_ Max slapped at David's arm and shoulder, kicked at his leg only to be nearly dragged as she lost her footing for a moment. Hearing the other women in the house protest and scream at her captor, Max finally broke free when she brought her foot into contact with David's balls.

Extricating her arm from the strong grip of Chloe's stepfather, Max went scurrying down the hallway and behind an enraged Chloe Price. _Owww,_ Max thought with tears streaming down her cheeks as Chloe shielded her, David slowly getting to his feet, _Chloe…Chloe it hurts so much._ Looking at her forearm, Max saw thick purple bruises begin to form where David had nearly buried his fingers in her. _I-It hurts_ , Max thought as her anxiety began to take hold. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think straight. David's angered visage turned into her mother's, who turned for a second into the face of a 14 year-old Chloe Price that was screaming at her about how Max was abandoning her. _Why are you hurting me?_ was all Max could think to say.

"Why…Why are you hurt…hurting me…?" Max let out with a heavy sob, her body swaying as her face turned a dark red before she fell onto Chloe's back before sliding to the living room floor. Gasping, Max thought she heard Chloe call her name. _Che, why did you hurt me? Why do the people I love_ hurt _me…?_

 _"-Get the fuck away from her, you psycho!"_

 _"David, what the hell were you think-"_

 _"…I'll take her upstairs. Chloe, keep him away from-"_

 _"Eat this, motherfucker!"_

 _"Get the hell out of my house! You do not lay your hands-"_

Max's eyes opened with a start, thinking for a second that she was dead as the darkness surrounding her seemed so finite. Whimpering as fear began to plague her, the brunette began to sob at the double memory of pain being inflicted upon her. Hearing noises from somewhere close by, Max was startled by sudden flash of lightning. _I-I'm in…is this Chloe's room? What…what happened? I remember David, something about David…_

"Fuck," Max muttered under her breath, feeling the bruise along her forearm in the dark. Wincing at the pain, Max sat up in Chloe's bed and realized she was alone in the room. The yelling and screaming continued and she recognized all of the voices. "They're all yelling…"

Leaping off the bed, Max felt her head grow suddenly heavy as she nearly careened into the door head-first. Bracing herself against the wall next to the door, Max took a deep breath before shaking off the fogginess. _I…I need to do something. I need to help…_ , Max thought as she grabbed at the doorknob to find it locked. Turning the lock with a resounding _click,_ Max swung the door open hard and came stumbling down the stairs to find Chloe at the foot of the staircase.

"Max?" Chloe said, her voice hoarse from shouting as she spun around to hold Max close to her, "Oh, holy fuckballs, I thought you would be passed out hella longer than this, babe."

The look of heartbreak on Chloe's face as she looked at the large, hand-shaped bruise on Max's forearm nearly brought the small brunette to tears as both girls jumped from the sound of yelling emanating from the kitchen.

"W-What's going on?" Max asked in a hushed voice, almost whispering.

"Mom's _trying_ to kick David out of the house. He's refusing to go, and he's drunk as fuck. Rachel called the cops on him after he tried to take a swing at both her _and_ me. Mom laid into him with a frying pan. He's on the floor, I think, half-assed and screaming like the whiny bag of shitty dicks that he totally is. Max, you should go back upstairs. The cops'll be here soon and they'll be hounding all of us more than enough. Get some rest."

"B-But I don't want rest," Max said, her thoughts and words coalescing, "I want _you._ "

"Ohh, my sweet little Max. My angel," Chloe frowned, Max seeing the heartbreak in the blue-haired girl's eyes, "I'll come up as soon as I can, babe. Just…can you just go upstairs and wait? I _promise_ I will be up soon. I gotta cover the stairs; I won't let him hurt you, _piece of shit-fucking motherfuckerass._ "

Searching Chloe's eyes, blue pools of anger at David and concern towards Max, Max reluctantly nodded before heading back up the stairs. Heading toward the bedroom door, Max stopped in the hallway and headed for the bathroom instead. Locking the door behind her, Max leaned against the wall with the lights still off and began to strip. Nearly ripping her own clothes off, Max felt the urge to scrub herself raw with soap and a washrag.

"I-I need to get clean," Max stuttered, her hands shaking as she reached blindly for the shower door. Sliding it open, Max climbed in and cried out at the icy water smacking her in the face. Crouching in the tub, Max turned the hot water on until she could feel it hitting her back with scalding little prickling sensations. Shuddering, Max wiped at her face first before dragging the washcloth down the remainder of her body. In the dark, alone, Max methodically scrubbed every inch of her person clean until her skin felt raw. Hearing a soft knocking sound, Max still jumped slightly until she heard Chloe's soft voice call out her name.

The water still running, Max climbed out of the shower and opened the bathroom door. Naked, Max's skin shone in the hallway's soft lighting as she was hidden by Chloe's silhouette. Her hair like a blue halo around her shadowed head, Max could barely make out the pained look on her girlfriend's face as both girls examined each other. Neither of them spoke for what felt like a while; Max broke the silence not with words, at first, but action.

"…Come," Max said after reaching her hand toward Chloe, her voice surprising both of them with how resolute she sounded. No thoughts plagued her, no worries incessantly gripped her. All was love in that moment, and love was Chloe. "Come."

Max felt Chloe's slender fingers slide into her own and she pulled the bluenette into the bathroom before closing the door behind them. Stopping Chloe from turning the lights on, Max simply whispered "Keep it dark, please" and proceeded to take her girlfriend's clothes off. The bathroom growing warm and humid from the steam of hot water, Max felt hands lightly touch her wet skin as Chloe hesitantly reached out for her.

"Come," was Max's only response, guiding her Che into the shower. Following Chloe in, Max slid the shower door shut and reached out for her washcloth. Remembering where she put it, Max soaped it up once more and began to wash her girlfriend's naked body. Running the cloth up and down Chloe's slender form, Max felt the bluenette shudder every now and then as her hand found ticklish areas and erogenous zones that she didn't know Chloe had. Her thoughts slowly coming back to her, Max felt a hard sting of fear drill into her only to shove it away with her yearning to be with the one whom she loved. _Fuck caution. Fuck Mom, Seattle, David, and everyone else. The reason I'm here…she's standing right before me._

"Chlo?" Max asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Max? Fuck, I thought…I thought you were never going to speak-"

" _Now._ "

Max heard Chloe stammer as she tried to discern what she had just heard. _You'll find out soon enough, Che. My love. My heart, all fractured yet thriving._ Tossing the washcloth over the shower stall paneling, Max thrust her hand into Chloe's hair and pulled her girlfriend down for a kiss. Not tender, not soft or gentle, Max buried her lips and tongue into Chloe's as a insatiable hunger took over her entire body. _This woman protected me. She shielded me with her own body against a man who could have hurt us both…or worse…_

"Max? Chloe?" Joyce asked, knocking on the bathroom door. _Motherfucker!_ Max thought as she was snapped out of her wanting fugue state by the sound of Chloe's mom.

"Uh, yeah?" Max said, her voice uneven as she was halfway still entrenched in her desire for Chloe, her head leaned into the bluenette's bare chest. "W-What…What is it?"

"I'm going to have to head down to the police station. They just came and arrested David. They wanted you two to come down with me, but I got them to push it off until tomorrow. Rachel's coming along with me, just so you know. David, well, he won't be going anywhere any time soon. If you're asleep by the time I get back, I'll see y'all in the morning. Good night."

 _Thank Dog she didn't ask what we were up to in here_ , Max thought as she waited until the sound of the front door closing echoed up the staircase. _She probably wanted to, though. Sorry, Joyce, but I can't wait anymore._ Turning her head so that her face was pressed against the space between Chloe's breasts, Max ran her tongue up Chloe's sternum and grinned as she felt Chloe shudder again. Not wanting to ask Chloe if she'd liked that, or even wanting to speak _at all_ , Max placed one of Chloe's hands on her hip and the other in her wet hair as she circled around one of Chloe's nipples with her tongue. Nibbling on the protruding nub, Max heard Chloe gasp before gasping herself as Chloe brought the hand on Max's hip around to cup the brunette's ass cheek.

" _Fuck_ ," Max said, her voice cutting the word off with a high-pitched whine as Chloe dug her fingers into Max ass. "Chloe… _unh_ , holy fucking shit…"

"My room?" Chloe asked, gasping as Max replied by sliding a hand along the bluenette's inner thigh, "You are fucking terrifying, Max Caulfield. You're a goddamn, amazeballs, force of nature."

"I'm, heh, I'm a sex-nado. A _Max_ -nado." Max bent Chloe's head down and slid her tongue into a waiting mouth. Feeling her girlfriend's tongue writhe alongside her own, Max's chest rose and fell in heaving motions as they lingered on each other's lips before Max pulled herself away. Turning around, Max quickly shut off the water before opening the shower door so that she and Chloe could make a quick escape with a single towel for the both of them.

"What about our clothes, Max?" Chloe whispered, her voice's giddiness betraying her lackluster attempt at caution.

"Do you _really_ care about clothes?" Max asked before sighing and turning to retrieve their clothes. Coming back into the hall with a mildly scathing look on her face, Max's free hand felt slick against the doorknob to what would be _their_ bedroom for the evening's remaining time. Managing to grip onto the metal after a couple tries, Max jerked the door knob and swung the door open with a slight _bang_ as it smacked against the wall.

Pulling Chloe into the bedroom, Max waited until the bluenette closed the door before advancing on her. Dumping the close, Max let out a shaky breath as the cool air of the bedroom met with the dampness of her hair and what little water still remained on her skin. Finding a hand keeping her back as she tried to meet with Chloe in the near-dark room, Max let out a whine only to hear Chloe chuckle in reply.

"Hang on, Max. I've, uh, got supplies."

Wondering what Chloe meant, Max let her girlfriend lead her to the bed. Taking a seat, Max leaned back onto the bed as she heard Chloe move around the bedroom. Squinting, Max tried to make out what the silent blue-haired girl was up to. _What the fuck are you_ -

"How's this?" Chloe asked, her tone simple and loving as she was suddenly illuminated by a few candles. Placing them strategically around the bedroom, the Chloe and Max seemed to glow and flicker under the tiny flames. "Saved for a rainy day. Look, Max _nado_. It's raining. Go me, right?"

"Well _yeah_ , Che. I _am_ a sex-nado. I bring the rain with me, y'know? Happy rain." Max said, giggling before letting out an _oof_ as Chloe shoved the brunette onto her back. "Sexy rain?"

"Hell yes," Chloe murmured, leaning into Max so that their chests were pressed against one another.

Max moaned at the touch, her eyes rolling into her head as she bit her lip so hard she thought that it might bleed. Letting out a stifled breath, Max opened her mouth slightly enough that Chloe was able to hook a thumb into it. Feeling her girlfriend trace her lips with the thumb, Max closed her mouth around it and began to suck on it slowly, feeling Chloe shiver on top of her. _I might be a virgin, Che, but I sure as fuck am not an innocent little kid. I_ do _watch movies, y'know…_

"Che…" Max let out, her voice low as she let Chloe have her thumb back, smiling as the bluenette sucked it clean, "Oh, do I taste good?"

"Dude. That should be _my_ line. You can't eat fingers, Maxaroni," Chloe said, chiding Max teasingly with a finger wagging inches from her face. "Are you sure about this, babe? You've, _we've_ , kinda been through a…a thing, recently. We don't have _to-"_ Chloe gasped, her sentence cut off as she let out a shrill whimper of ecstasy.

"You were saying, Chloe Price?" Max purred, her hand sliding up Chloe's thigh and to the wetness between the bluenette's legs. Exploring carefully, Max felt a finger begin to slide in somewhere and pulled it back before Chloe's hand clamped down on hers.

"Don't…stop…"

Chloe's panting breath, her half-whispered words, sent a rush of heat through Max's body before she nodded and continued. Pushing her finger into Chloe, Max felt something give and she felt something incredibly hot and wet as the single digit found its way inside of her girlfriend. _It's…it's hot_ , Max thought, _I mean, it's not like I don't know what this is like. Wowsers, it's just n-new to be doing_ this _to someone other than myself. Oh, Oh Dog, she's grinding against my hand. Will I have to do that?_ Extending another finger, Max let it slip in when Chloe pushed her body down on Max's hand.

"Fuck, you!" Chloe let out through gritted teeth, "You sneaky fuck and your other fingers! Jesus… _unf_ …keep going, Max. Don't just…don't just lie there… _oof_!"

Max had grabbed the side of Chloe's neck with her free hand and shoved the looming bluenette onto the bed. Lightning flashing, Max's wanton expression was exposed to a euphoric Chloe in a crash of light and boom of thunder. Letting her hands and body guide Chloe, Max brought her girlfriend to a sitting position before locking her legs around the other girl. Licking at her hand, Max slid it back down and into Chloe's wetness and continued from where she had left off. Following up her hand movements by grinding against Chloe, Max brought her lips against Chloe's and felt Chloe's legs wrap around her as the bluenette matched every move the smaller girl made. _Fuck…fuck me, holy shit_ , Max thought, panting as she broke away from Chloe's kiss and leaned her head into the crook of Chloe's shoulder as Chloe slid her own hand down and into Max's dripping nethers.

Both girls let out moans in unison as Max pushed her head a little deeper into Chloe's neck, nibbling on the bluenette as she felt Chloe leave a string of pinching kisses along her own neck. _This isn't a race, Chloe! Also, how many hickies are you going to fucking…fucking…fuck…_ , Max's thoughts dissipating into a hedonistic blur as she pushed Chloe onto her back and kissed the chuckling bluenette as she slipped a third finger into Chloe. Hearing her girlfriend cry out in surprise and elation, Max began to pump her fingers in and out in rapid, successive motions before letting out her own shrill cry as Chloe tried to keep up.

"Not…N-Not…a race, Che," Max groaned, her body convulsing as a heat began to well up in her, "What…what's going on…?"

"Max…Max, have you never had an orgasm?" Chloe asked, panting between words and kisses, "Amazeballs. I really _am_ taking your virginity!"

"Not taking, Che. I'm giv- _FUCK!_ " Max screamed as the scalding heat in her climaxed into hot pulses that exploded inside of her. Falling on top of Chloe, Max felt herself twitch and spasm in jerking motions as wave after wave of an incandescent pleasure wrapped her up. Breathing heavily, Max bit at one of Chloe's nipples before hearing the slight whimper coming from her partner. Pulling her fingers out, Max heard the whimper trail into a single dejected tone of want before she lowered her head into the blunette's crotch. Licking the lips of Chloe's pussy, Max slipped a finger in and began to pump as she licked away with a twitching tongue while playing with herself. Hearing, feeling, Chloe begin to burst with delight as her back arched up, Max shot a second finger in and was rewarded with Chloe screaming a litany of swear words and loving pet names as she climaxed. Making her way back up so that she was hovering over Chloe, Max hovered over Chloe's expression of orgasmic euphoria. Licking her lips at the taste of her girlfriend, Max bent down and gave Chloe a single kiss, long and meaningful as she seemed to return the bluenette back to awareness.

"Holy…holy _shit_. That was fucking hardcore. Seriously, you're a virgin?" Chloe asked as Max laid down next to her, both girls laughing between deep, panting breaths.

" _Was_ a virgin, Che. You took that card, fucker." Max laughed at the irony of calling Chloe a "fucker". _She_ is _a fucker. Eheheh, my fucker. Actually, ugh, that just sounds weird. She's my Che. That's better._

"I wonder what I can redeem your V Card for? Ooh, free smokes at the supermarket? A lottery ticket-", Chloe let out a gasping laugh as her teasing pissed Max off to the point of tickling Chloe with quick hands, "Noooo, Max! Max! Max… _ahahahahaha_! Q-Quit it, fucking brat!"

"Che?" Max felt Chloe's tensing at the tickling stop and looked over to see the bluenette just gazing at her with a look of love and sadness. _Chloe? Chloe, you okay?_

"Sorry," Chloe's voice meeker than Max had ever heard, "I…I just wish you didn't have to go through bullshit like David. First, you tell me your mom abuses you, and now my stepdouche put his hands on you. Max, I'm really sorry. It's this fucking down, I swear. It's like a suckhole for just straight badness, dude. I'm sorry."

"Stop, Chloe. Just stop," Max said, putting a finger to Chloe's lips, silencing the oncoming apologies, " _You_ don't need to apologize for anything. Just be here with me, hold me and love me. Tell me things, or just sleep with me. Under the covers, of course. I'm getting hella chilly, what with us…well…"

"Heh, the sexy Maxnado is quickly supplanted by the _shy_ nado I fell in love with," Chloe said, kissing Max on the forehead before hoisting herself up and helping the brunette to her feet. "Let's get you in some clothes, yeah, and we'll just sleep together like when we were kids. Sleepover!"

"Um, _not quite_ like before, you," Max said, squinting as Chloe flipped on a lamp and tossed a pair of boxers and an anarchy t-shirt at her.

The shirt and boxers both fitting with a comfortable looseness, Max spun around and watched the shirt fabric trail behind slightly to Chloe's amused snickering. Sticking her tongue out while giving Chloe the double bird, Max spun around a couple more times before something came to mind. _No, not now. We'll have tomorrow morning, at least, before the police station. Right now I'm happy and ecstatic but hella tired. Maxnado needs to unwind and turn back into a fluffy dream cloud._

"Bed?" Chloe said with a stifled yawn, "Wow, you took it right outta me, Caulfield. Who knew you were such a porn star?"

"Ew." Max cringed at the idea of her doing _anything_ like that. "Save the 'porn' from discussions of me, okay? That's just fucking gross."

"Yeah, but you were hardcore like mad. Max, seriously, that was amazing. Come on," Chloe said, beckoning to her smiling girlfriend from under the covers, "Come to bed."

"'Kay."

* * *

The new dawn's light filtered through the American flag that Chloe had hung over the window, red and blue colors swirling on Max's face as she slowly began to wake up. Popping her neck, Max looked over sleepily to see Chloe still fast asleep, the look of calm on her girlfriend's face heartwarming. Smiling, Max leaned over and kissed Chloe on the forehead, hearing a soft "Max, noooo" before Chloe grew silent once more. Biting her lip so as to not laugh, Max slid out of bed and tip-toed to her clothes, dressing in the bathroom and brushing her teeth with a spare toothbrush she had packed.

 _Brave new day, brave new me? Dog, I hope so,_ Max thought as she winced upon sight of the sickly bruise on her forearm before giggling at three hickies perfectly lined up along the crook of her neck. _Mmm, there's a battle scar I don't mind having_ , Max pulled her Jane tank-top's down a bit to see how her blue morpho tattoos were coming along. _Scabbing a bit slower than I'd like, but still looking pretty good. Hopefully,_ Max stretched the skin taut and winced at the pain, _Hopefully they'll be healed up within a week or so. Not like I got the inside of my arm done or anything. Nothing like my ribs. Those hurt, like cereally hurt._

Splashing cold water on her face, Max looked back into the mirror and saw the shadow over her eye where her mom had struck her. Clenching her fists as the assault came freshly into her mind, accumulated with David's mark left on her, Max felt herself begin to shake violently as the euphoria of last night's time with Chloe was replaced with a cold ball of anger nestling itself in her. _Even when I feel wonderful, there's always something_ , Max said, crying at the bruises on her arm and face. Even Chloe's hickies left a saddening impression on Max, almost like a defacing of her person. _I just don't understand. Is there…Is there something_ wrong _with me? Why do I always look at the worst before the amazing? I know that expecting happiness 24/7 is a fucking kiddy dream, but I can't have more than the sparse moments I get? I'm about to turn 17 and I just feel like my life is closing up when it should be just really starting…_

"Max?" Chloe's questioning voice and soft knocking at the bathroom door startled Max, brought her out of the melancholic trance she had found herself momentarily locked away in. "Hey, um, you okay? I thought…were you crying just now…?"

"J-Just give me a minute, Che. Please?" the plaintive tone, a little whiny, from Max was answered by the sound of Chloe heading back to the bedroom.

Turning on the bathroom vent, Max pulled a joint out of her hoodie pocket and lit up. _I need to fucking bake, for cereal._ Feeling herself calm down after she had inhaled two doobies, Max came out of the bathroom in a calmer, lightheaded state. Seeing Chloe lying in bed, blowing smoke rings from her own joint, Max went to her camera bag and snapped a photo of the bluenette with her Polaroid camera. Seeing Chloe look over at her with a distant smile, Max set the camera down and began to play with the small pouch she had retrieved from yesterday's clothes. Clad in her usual jean shorts and tank-top, Max set the cloth bag in her hoodie's pocket as she pulled out black knee-high stocking and slipped them on.

"You tryin' to seduce me, Maxnado?"

"Is that name _actually_ sticking? And so what if I am, by the way?" Max said, forcing a strained cheerfulness in her voice.

"Dude, my mind is still blown from last night…among other things being similarly wiped out. Jesus, Max. You were a fiend…and yes, Maxnado stays. Max Attack, Max Mischief, Maximillian, Maxaroni, Max _ine_ -"

"Don't call me that," Max snapped, surprising both herself and Chloe with the rage in her voice, "…M-My mom calls me that…"

Holding her arm awkwardly, Max looked away in embarrassment as she stood near her luggage, nudging a duffel bag as she lowered her head. She wanted to forget everything that wasn't presently in the bedroom, but Max knew that could never be. She was scarred, through her own devices as well as the hands of others, and thought she might never heal the way she felt was needed. _Maybe Chloe and I can make a whole person, our broken hearts mending each other's_ , she mused to herself as Chloe sat up and walked over to her.

"Talk to me," Chloe said, softly putting her hands on Max's shoulders, "Talk to your girlfriend."

Max responded with tears and sobs instead of words, her knees giving out as she crashed onto the floor. Chloe keeping her from landing on her face, Max buried herself in Chloe's shirt as she trembled from the waves of emotional duress crashing through her. _I love you, Chloe. I need you so much and I'm going to have to go back to Seattle without you and I don't know if I'll survive there without you I need you so bad_ …, Max's thoughts swirling in a miasma of despair and desperation. Clinging to her girlfriend, Max wouldn't lift her head when Chloe tried to sit Max up and left the bluenette speechless at the naked state of her vulnerability.

"I d-don't want to g-go back, Chloe." Max's sobs bringing tears both girls' eyes, "I-I don't know i-if I'll fucking survive if I go b-back to Seattle…"

Max felt Chloe push her away with force as the bluenette gave her a severe look. _Don't…don't look at me like that, Chloe. You have no right to look at me like that. You have more scars than I do, so don't you fucking look at me like that!_ Max's expression darkened, Chloe's lightening up as she became aware of what Max must've been thinking. Pulled back into her girlfriend's arms, Max squirmed as she fought to get out and away from Chloe.

"Lemme go! Chloe, you…you let me go _right now_!" Max snapped, her voice low and threatening as her emotions took hold of her, rational thought replaced with an instinctive need to escape from everything and everyone. "L-Let me g-go-"

"No."

Chloe's single-worded reply made something break inside of Max, and she felt her whole body just freeze up as her eyes widened. Trembling slightly, Max just stared blankly ahead from where it rested on Chloe's shoulder.

"I'm not letting you go. We made a promise to each other, Max, and I'm hella not giving up on you. Don't give up on me. On _us_."

Conflicting trains of thought surged through Max, the want of escaping and hiding contrasting with the heartfelt need she had for Chloe. Slamming a single fist softly against her girlfriend's chest, Max felt her entire body quake with indecisiveness. Unable to piece together a single, cohesive answer to Chloe's statement, Max let her heart take over. Melting into the other girl's arms, Max slowly wrapped her arms around Chloe.

"I don't want to go," Max said, her voice small and cracking from the hoarseness of her throat and the toll her violently shifting moods were taking. "T-This is my home. You are my h-home. I want to stay _home_."

Feeling a wetness in her hair, Max fought to not cry as she felt Chloe's tears land on her bare shoulder before trembling lips began to kiss where the drops fell. _She's crying on me and kissing away the tears_ , Max's heart breaking all over again. Reminded of their last night together in Seattle, lying in bed and crying together at their inevitable separation the following day, Max realized that she was repeating the event. Pulling back from Chloe, Max gave Chloe a wavering smile as the bluenette just stared at her with bloodshot eyes.

"I know," Max said, putting a hand to her girlfriend's cheek. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Che. I…I just don't know what to do. I'm so conflicted, so frightened. I've spent so much time being afraid. My mother, the woman who birthed me, betrayed me so many times that part of me just refuses to trust anybody…"

"E-Even me?" The fragility of Chloe's voice stabbed Max in the chest with how weak the bluenette sounded.

"I don't want it to be like this, you know. I want to, _ugh_ , I just want to let down all my walls and pull you into me."

"Then do it."

"Easier said than done, babe."

"…Will you please let me in? I'm right here, waiting for you," Chloe's lower lip trembling, Max leaned her forehead against the bluenette's with a crestfallen look on her face.

"I…I don't know h-how. I'm sorry."

Feeling Chloe pull away, the shaky warmth turned into a faint cooling sensation as Max watched Chloe withdraw. _No! Please, Chloe, I need you! I'm trying, Goddamnit, so don't give up on me. Please!_ Feeling herself begin to shake from crying once more, Max shot a hand out and grabbed at Chloe's boxers. Feeling the taller girl freeze in place, Max looked up to see a neutral look on her girlfriend's face. _No…please…_

"Please don't give up on me. I can't love anyone else more than I love you," Max whispered, the turmoil within her building to a crescendo as need for Chloe consumed the instinct to pull away. "I can't…I can't breathe…"

Max fell over, her hand still clenched as she began to heave in an attempt to try and catch her breath. _No, not now,_ Max desperately thought, her body not responding to her internalized pleas as it began to spasm. Max watched through her shaking vision as Chloe knelt down and carried her to the bed. Not feeling anything, Max could only see Chloe gently set her down and climb into bed alongside her. Watching a single arm wrap itself across her chest, Max knew that Chloe was trying to calm her down. Hyperventilating in earnest, Max wheezed and gasped as she felt herself on the brink of passing out. _Think of something, think of anything! Calm down, Max, and just think…think of Chloe…_

Chloe Price's blue hair came into the mind's eye of Max Caulfield, the punk's head turning to face her as they sat together at the hilltop overlooking Arcadia Bay. Smiling, Max reached out with a shaking hand and tried to touch the smiling face only to grasp at air as she was pulled back to reality with the _real_ Chloe whispering in her ear.

"Please snap out of it, Max. Max, I need you hella bad, like you need me. I didn't realize how much pain you're in, and I'm sorry. I just…I just want you to love me and know that you can trust me. I need your trust as much as I need your smile and your laughs, dude. I can't love a wall, but I can try to fucking break it down. I won't give up on you, I swear, but I need you to _try_ …"

"…Chloe?" Max's voice was raspy as she coughed, eyes fluttering open as Chloe leaned over to look at her. Seeing blue hair hang over her field of vision, Max looked up with puffy eyes and smiled weakly at her girlfriend's tear-stained face. Feeling Chloe assist her, Max turned around and let Chloe wrap her up in a hug as she burrowed her face into the bluenette's chest, short breaths slowly turning into normal ones. "What are we gonna do, Che?"

"We'll fucking get through both of our mutual piles of bullshitery, Max. We'll burn the fucking world down if we have to, but we'll get there. Just promise me something."

"What?"

"Stop blowing your nose on my shirt, dude. It's hella gross, Max."

Coughing, Max broke into a fit of giggles as Chloe snickered, the brunette sighing as she patted the damp spot on Chloe's shirt.

"I'm just making sure everyone knows that you're _my_ girlfriend, so you just shut the hell up. Dork."

"Nerd, you're hella gross, but I'm still not going anywhere."

* * *

"Chloe?" Max asked, putting her jeep into park before shutting it off, "Um, what are we doing here?"

"Eh?" Max rolled her eyes at how nonchalant Chloe was acting. _This isn't the police station, Che. I told you that I would go where you wanted to take me, but_ after _the police station…_

" _Why_ , my blue-haired wonder, are we in a fucking junkyard?"

Chloe snorted as she climbed out of the passenger side, closing the door and winking at Max though the window. Staying in the driver's seat, Max watched with a furrowed brow as Chloe walked further into the junkyard before turning around to give Max a plaintive look. _I have somewhere else I need to be, Che. Especially if I want to make sure you're safe after I leave tomorrow, dork._ Watching as Chloe sauntered back over to where she was parked, Max rolled her window down when the bluenette knocked on it.

"Can I help you?" Max asked, smirking at the pout on Chloe's face, "I don't really need my windshield washed, and I don't have any spare change."

" _Ha_ , lady. I am, matter of fact, looking for someone. Aboot yay high, freckled, kind-of a pain in the ass…"

"Why would you be looking for someone who is a 'pain in your ass', exactly?"

"Well, see, the thing is she's kinda the hardcore love of my life." Max blushed at Chloe's tactless proclamation, her eyes widening before she caught herself. _Why am_ I _the one blushing? Goddamnit, Chloe. Why do you have to be so fucking cute sometimes?_

"Still, she can't like being called a pain in the ass…"

"I mean it in the best way possible, of course," Chloe said, rolling her eyes as she leaned in to kiss Max on the nose, "Max, just get out of the jeep and I'll explain. Okay? Pretty fucking please, with extra Chloe on top?"

Covering her mouth to hide the smile on her face, Max let out a grunt before reluctantly climbing out of her jeep. Looping her arm around Chloe's, Max walked along as Chloe started to explain the situation. _I fought the Chlo and the Chlo won, I guess. The Law came in third._

"Welcome, dear madam, to American Rust. My home away from hell. When shit would get dismal, I'd drag my ass up here. It's a dump, yeah, but it's _my_ dump. I don't have to worry about anyone else here but me and the occasional companion," Chloe stated, gesturing to various little areas where her graffiti was on display next to beer cans and bottles Max had no doubt belonged to the bluenette. _Gotcha. This is your kingdom._

"So this is where the revolution starts, Che? Huh. It suits you. Very steampunk, such broken, many beers. Wow." Max snickered as Chloe screwed her mouth up and poked the brunette in the side as payback. The jabbing finger only made things worse, Max's snicker turning into a giggle as Chloe sighed in exasperation.

"C'mon, Laugh Factory. I got some plans for you, muahahaha. Rachel! Raaaachelll!" Chloe put a hand to her mouth and shouted across the junkyard. Looking out past where they stood next to a junked school bus, Max squinted as Rachel's head popped out from a shed across the train tracks. Not able to decipher the look on her friend's face, _I'm too far away,_ Max wasn't left to guesswork as the sound of Rachel calling back gave away her typical playfulness.

"Yoooooooo!" Max heard Rachel shout. "Hurry your asses up! I've places to do and people to go to, shitstains!"

"Who you calling a shitstain, asswipe?" Max shouted back, earning a grin from Chloe as she began to play along with the bluenette and their mutual friend.

"How dare you?!" Rachel snapped back, hopping down the small hill and crossing the tracks as she approached them, "I'll have you know that I am a _hooman bean_ , not some moist towelette!"

Returning Rachel's hug with one of her own, Max and Chloe blushed as Rachel gave them both an appraising eye and smiled knowingly. _You need to lay off the psychic crap, Rachel_ , Max thought. _Seriously, stop staring. Stop. Stop it._ Frowning under the power of Rachel's smile, Max watched the brunette's cheerfulness tone down some as she playfully smacked Chloe on the shoulder.

"C'mon." Rachel's single word was almost like a command to the bluenette, Max going from walking arm in arm with her girlfriend to being led by the hand. _I don't like the looks of this. They're_ both _up to something and I…don't…like it…_ Feeling her pocket buzz, Max accidentally let out a sigh of relief as Chloe let her go. Seeing Chloe pout at the revelation of her mixed interest in whatever she and Rachel had planned, Max smiled apologetically as she checked her caller ID. _Dad, you are a life-saver._

"Hey," Max said, waiting for her father to speak up. "Um, Dad? You there? Is this a butt dial again?"

"Max…I just got off the phone with Joyce. Are you…are you okay, hun?" Max heard her father ask?

"I'll…I'll live, I guess." Max glared at Chloe as she gave the brunette an impatient look before Max put a hand to the phone and hissed "It's my _dad_ , Chloe!"

"Sorry." Chloe hastily said, pouting and looking down at her boots before shambling off the way Rachel had come from, the taller girl following her so that Max was left alone. _Goddamnit. This day is not going right. At all. This whole weekend has been boned in one way or another. It's my fault._ Taking her hand off, Max let out a silent huff and answered her father, Ryan calling out her name a few times.

"Still here, Dad. Just…just being with Chloe."

"Max, I know you don't want to hear this but I would really like for you to come home…"

"…I know," Max leaned against an old washing machine, "Dad…I-I haven't even given her the ring yet, though. I, _ugh_ , I've screwed up so much this weekend. I'm screwing up over and _over_."

"Max Caulfield, you listen to me. You've had it harder than most. You're my daughter and I love you, but perfect is one thing you are not. Chloe's been through a lot of hardship too; it's up to you two whether or not this works. For your sake, though, I hope it does," Ryan paused, hearing Max sniffle at his words, "I haven't seen or heard you so happy in years, Max, since you came back from dropping Chloe off. If…if you want, we can talk about you moving down there when you get back."

" _Really_?!" _Ohmygod. Oh…my…fucking…GOD!_ "You're cereal?"

"My works allows me to be a little flexible, and there's a spot in the Portland marshal's office. _If_ it stays open, we can talk about us moving back to Arcadia Bay when you come home. _If_ , Max. And don't tell Chloe, okay? If this falls through, it'll just make you _both_ a wreck. Got it?"

"Uh, _yeah_. I mean, I'll keep it a secret." _How the fuck can I keep_ this _monumental a thing secret? Dog, I won't be able to look at her with a straight face. Heh, I can hardly do so anyway. Eheheh_ , Max thought of Chloe and her from last night. _Do_ not _think about making love with your girlfriend while talking with Dad on the phone. Ew. Ewww!_

"Alright. Well, I'll let you go. Love you-"

Max didn't mean to hang up on him; she was just too excited to stay on the line. Letting out a faint shriek of giddiness, Max clutched at her phone with both hands before putting it up to her face so her smile was hidden. _Chloe! I might be able to stay, Chlo! We could live together or whatever! How_ cool _would that be?!_ Feeling herself begin to hyperventilate, Max stuffed her phone back into her jeans and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Smoothing out her hoodie, feeling fidgety, Max unzipped it and tied it around her waist as she enjoyed the sun and faint breeze on her bare arms. Pulling at her tank-top to make sure she looked as ordinary and normal as she figured was possible, Max let out one last deep breath before heading toward the train tracks.

"Che, I'm sorry," Max said, letting her guard down with a pleading tone in her voice as she stood in front of the shed's locked door, "My dad got word from Joyce about what happened with David and I had a mini-meltdown. Please don't be mad. Please? Can I come in?"

"I _dunno_ ," Rachel teased, leaning against the other side of the door until she heard Max begin to cry, "Shit! Max, I was kidding. We were waiting on you, we… _oh, you motherfucker!_ "

Max gladly accepted Rachel's punching of her shoulder as she ran straight inside the shed and wrapped herself around a forlorn Chloe. Squeezing her girlfriend tightly, barely able to contain her elation at the news of possibly moving back to Arcadia Bay, Max actually managed to lift Chloe a few inches in the air. Hearing Rachel break into laughter as Chloe shouted "Lemme down, Max! Jesus, Incredible Max! Lemme _down_!" Max dropped Chloe and the bluenette fell all of two or three feet. Standing on her tip-toes, Max kissed Chloe on the lips with a gentleness that expressed how sorry she was. _I don't need words to tell you how I feel_ , Max thought as she bumped her forehead against Chloe's before realizing their threesome had turned into a foursome.

"Hi," Kate Marsh said, sitting on a countertop with her violin alongside, "Um…uhh…"

"Kate!" Max said, brightening the shy blonde up with a smile as she walked over and gave Kate a hug, "Hey! Um, this is unusual…heh…"

"I invited her," Rachel explained, pulling Max's guitar out from behind Kate, "We…well, _Kate_ has something she'd like to ask."

"…Is it okay if I blaze while you do?" Max asked, pulling out a joint. Seeing a poorly hidden eagerness in Chloe's eyes, Max shook her head before tossing a second joint at the giddy bluenette, "One, Che. You fucking owe me some hella nice grass after I've pretty much supplied you so far this weekend. Kate, is it cool if I smoke? It's prescription, anxiety issues and all that. It's been a stressful 24-hour period."

"I guess," Kate said, her mouth in a slight frown, "Um, can we leave the door open, though? I…I don't want to get high…"

Rachel acquiesced, leaving the door wide open as Max lit hers and Chloe's joints before taking in a long drag. Blowing a smoke ring at her girlfriend, Max took her guitar from Rachel's outstretched arms. Seeing the amp tucked into a corner, Max eyed all three girls suspiciously. _You_ touched _my baby without permission? Not fucking cool, dudes._

"My baby better be in perfect working order, Rachel," Max said, the warning in her voice getting a smile and defensive raising of hands as Rachel emphasized that everything was fine, "So, Kate. What's up?"

"There's an open mic at, well, at The Pier tonight," Kate said, looking down at her dangling legs, "I was, um…well, I was wondering if you would like to do something? You can play Apocalyptica, so I thought we could do a track from them…?"

"Chloe wants you to do something with her, too," Rachel said, Chloe walking over to elbow her before Rachel continued, "Ow, Chlo, but _you did say that_. I told you last night and you nearly jumped at the chance! Don't hit! Agh, don't hit me, Blue Meanie!"

"Is it just covers," Max asked, her tone calm as she thought of actually performing in front of people, "Or can we do original material?"

Max watched as the three girls both looked at her with grins on their faces. _What?_

"Look at you," Chloe said, a smirk on her face as she slid back over to wrap her arm around Max, "My lil lady rawker. Riot grrrl in a kids' meal size."

"Fucking _hilariballs_ , Che. I'm serious."

"I know, Max. That's why we're excited, dude. You're fucking on-point with your music, we've all seen it, so if you were just playing around with us we want to see your real skills."

Taking a drag from her joint before snuffing it out, Max tucked the half-smoked dope behind an ear as Kate held out the portable amplifier. Looking for an outlet, Chloe took the amp from a searching Max and plugged it in for the amused brunette. _You really want to hear me show off? Um, well, that is…that's kinda intimidating, Che. Oh Dog, a live crowd. Like, actual_ crowd. _Wowsers, I-I don't want to piss myself from fright._ Smiling nervously as she tried to slide past the other girls, Max whined when Rachel stood in front of the door with her arms closed.

"Hey!" Max cried out, pouting only to have Rachel point her back in Chloe's direction. Groaning, Max dragged her feet across the short distance and let Chloe connect her guitar to the amp. Taking a deep breath, Max ran her fingers over the guitar's double necks and quietly tuned the instrument until she was satisfied. "You sure?"

"Max!" The exclamatory tone in the girls' collective shouting of her name jostled Max for a second before she nodded mutely.

Starting with a simple rhythm to warm her up, Max played a pleasant melody that made Kate and Rachel smile as Chloe watched her intently. _Geez, Che. Back down, girl._

"I can't focus if you're watching me like a kid in a fucking candy factory, Che."

"Then go hardcore, Max. _Really_ show us something amazeballs."

"Gee, thanks."

Not paying attention to the reproachful look on Chloe's face, Max broke into the start of Bullet For My Valentine's "Scream Aim Fire". Seeing Chloe's eyes widen as Rachel's jaw dropped, Max began to move her hands across _both_ necks of the guitar as she slid from that song into "Hell Frozen Rain" from her favorite game, _Silent Hill: Shattered Memories_. Coughing as she played, Max shied away when Chloe tried to pat her on the back.

"In your mind's eye," Max began to sing, ignoring the whoop of Rachel's elation, "lives a memory hard to find, blinded by sorrow…"

Singing the lyrics for a bit longer, Max thought of Chloe's beautiful singing voice. _I'm okay but nowhere near you, Che. You should sing, and not just at the open mic._ Transitioning from the Akira Yamaoka song to her last cover, Paramore's "That's What You Get", Max bounced on her heels a bit as she played, finally getting over her stage fright. Seeing the smile on Kate's face grow, Max smiled back as she looked over to see Chloe positively glowing as Rachel leaned against the bluenette with a smile on her face as well. _Uh, leggo my girlfriend_ , Max thought, flashing Rachel a playful smile. Knowing that Rachel was just hanging with all of them, Max felt a surprising ease at the sight of Rachel and Chloe together. _Why did I ever feel jealous of them in the first place? They're friends. Besides, I know how to make Chloe moan, eheheh._ Strumming a little as she wound down, Max finished with some crosspicking and took a couple of short breaths. _Wow. I, heh, I got kinda lost for a sec._

" _Dude_!" Chloe's excited tone making the other girls jump as she abruptly broke the silence following Max's playing, "Mad Max, Maxnado, my Max…"

"Those are names to which I am associated, yes," Max said, smirking wryly before meeting Chloe's lowing head for a kiss, "Yes, Che? You were saying something, I think?"

"We _have_ to play, Max! It's not even fucking _noon_ , and the open mic isn't until later tonight! All those in favor of Max's hardcore jamming skills, say 'hella' and raise up your hand!"

"Heh. Hel-la!" Rachel joined Chloe's raised arm with both of her own.

"…Hella…?" Kate said, blushing as she timidly raised her hand, an embarrassed smile on her face.

"Do I get a vote?" Max asked, putting a hand on her hip as she held her guitar in place with the other.

"Fuck no! Your skills already voted for you, babe, and it's unanimous!" Chloe said, her cheer catching as Max giggled at her now-dancing girlfriend. "Go ahead, Max. Call me a dork, call me-"

"Hey, can I get a moment alone with my girlfriend?" Max cut Chloe off, the shed becoming quiet as the question unknown meaning hung over Rachel and Kate. Helping Kate off the countertop, Rachel took the shy blonde's hand in her own and closed the door behind them. Chloe's gaze switched from Max to the door before looking back at Max with a mixture of what the brunette perceived to be worry and anxiety. "Relax, Che. No yelling Max. Swear."

"…Okay. I really _do_ want to sing with you playing, though. I…I know you've been through some hella craziness, babe. I just thought that it might be something to remember the weekend by, something amazeballs for us to do together."

"You mean besides you taking my virginity with intense love-making?" Max asked, sliding up to Chloe with a sly look on her face, "That not enough for you, _nerd_?"

"Umm…uh, yeah, that was…well…," Chloe stammered, scratching at her beanie as she looked anywhere but into Max's eyes, "I mean to say…fuck, Max, you know last night was. The _us_ part, I mean. Ugh, I'm no good at talking about… _intimate_ stuff, dude. Don't make me talk about it. I won't be able to express it the way I want, Maxaroni."

Unslinging her guitar, Max set it on top of the soft case and put the amp away. Hopping onto the spot where Kate had been, Max took the blonde's seat and beckoned for Chloe to come over. _She's so adorable,_ Max thought as the bad-ass punk girl turned into an awkward, blue-haired bundle of nervousness. _I'm the one who's nervous, Che. I'm just better at the mushy than you. No worries. I gotcha, babe._ Pulling the velvet pouch from her pocket, Max weighed it in her open hand as Chloe watched in confusion.

"What's that?" Chloe asked, jerking her hand toward the bag in Max's hand.

"…It's a promise," Max said, her voice growing quiet. "Chloe, it's…it's a ring…"

"Oh," Chloe said, indifferent until she realized the gravity of the moment, " _Oh._ Holy sh-"

"Let me speak before you hit me with swear words and stutters, Che," Max pleaded, using her free hand to take one of Chloe's hands, "I'm anxious as fuck and if I can't say it now I don't know if I will be able to at all. Relax. It's not an engagement ring. We're both teenagers and while I know that I only want you I also understand that we are still _becoming_ , still growing."

Chloe tried to speak, but Max's watery eyes silenced her. _Please let me finish this while I can, Chloe. I know you get jumpy at this type of stuff._

"Don't laugh. I-It's a promise ring, okay?" Max opened the small pouch and pulled out a white gold band that held two gems, one blue and one green. "I've…I've been holding onto this for a month-"

"A month?! Max, this is-"

"A _month_ , so I'm going to finish my lil speech, Chloe Elizabeth Price." Chloe's jaw clamped shut as Max caught a glimpse of Rachel and Kate watching from the window, both girls having giddy looks on their faces. _You jerkfaces._ "Chloe, I know I will marry you somewhere down the line. I don't know when, and I sure as fuck don't know _where_. I _do_ know, however, that wherever I go I want you with me. I _need_ you. You remind me that, well, that there're things in my life that make living worthwhile. Be my rock?"

Max smiled as Chloe hesitated before opening her mouth to speak, trembling lips parting with Rachel and Kate watching the couple from outside. _Go ahead, Che. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere._

 **Author's Note**

 **Eheheh.**

 **Ahahahahaha!**

 **How 'bout that ending, huh? I feel like I forgot to add something…maybe a response from someone to a question…hmm…**

 **Nope. You get to find out Chloe's answer in Part 4. Part 4 will also be the conclusion and lead-in to the next section of story. I'm not going to spoil too much, save that the name of the third installment is tentatively "Someone, Somewhere"** **by Asking Alexandria and it takes place over a longer span of time in Seattle. Whose perspective is it? You'll know _who_ and understand _why_ in the next, concluding, chapter of this story.**

 **Read, review, and I'll see you for the conclusion to** _ **Wake Me Up When September Ends.**_

 **Up and Down**

 **Worlds crashing around…**

 **Stay hella, Cinnamon Rolls!**

 **PS – Thanks to the following people for listening, in regards to something that I kinda dropped onto Tumblr: ubiwarehomo, cas2130, surroundedbybluestars, jessicaahla, pricefieldismylifenow, aerostallic, sm295, imdyingforthis, straightupgod, elenyiorene, and Candle In The Night. I've been getting some hateful shiz for nearly a week and it came to something of a head earlier today. Thanks, Cinnamon Rolls. Thanks for listening and caring. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wake Me Up When September Ends, Conclusion**

 **Dressed in Dreams, song by Brody Dalle**

 **Warning: NSFW**

 **Warning: Suicide Trigger**

"Chloe, stop it!" Max said, giggling as the bluenette ran a hand through her hair, having stolen Max's beanie. _We're in front of the police station, Che! You could_ try _to be chill and not such a fucking goober, y'know._ "Seriously, Chloe. Stop."

"Stahp?"

"Ugh, I give up." Rolling her eyes, Max heard a chuckle from her girlfriend and elbowed the girl in her side before turning around to face her, "I can't fucking believe I let you talk me into this."

"Dude. My sweet, sweet love, you look _killer_!" Chloe said, running both hands through Max's hair, "Who knew that black and red worked so well together! Also, it's 'cereally'. If you're going to be Max Caulfield, at least use your shtick properly, ladykiller."

" _Ughhhh_." Using her phone, Max switched on the front-facing camera and examined her new "killer" style. _I'm going to die. Right now. On the steps, I swear to Dog, I will just drop._ Her hair almost entirely dyed pitch black, Chloe and Rachel had colored Max's bangs maroon and tied the black into a ponytail. Feeling like a cross between nerdy photog and thrasher, Max missed her natural hair color. "I liked my hair the way it was."

"And you'll _still_ be able to like it, Max. This is just a temp dye, so if you don't like it by the time you take a shower then no worries. It's not like we fucking shaved your head, dude. Just rinse, release, and relapse into your default chestnuttiness. I'll take my Max original or extra spicy, so no loss on my end."

"Oh?" Max asked, walking through the double doors with Chloe hand in hand, "So _the hair_ makes me 'extra spicy'? Here I was thinking it was my mad bedroom skills, yo. Also, who in Dog's name are you calling 'nutty', eh?"

"…Never say 'yo', Max. It doesn't suit you, dude. You're always spicy, mama. The hair is only an accent on your hotness," Chloe said, grabbing Max's ass as they exited the station's foyer and came into the waiting area. "…Can I haz nookie tonight, too? I mean, you _are_ leaving tomorrow…"

"I dunno, Che. You're kinda being a jerk. Makin' fun of my real hair and shiz…"

" _Please_? Don't make me beg in a public building, Maxnado."

" _Bow_ , Chloe Price. Bow before your goddess of sexiness," Max said, poking Chloe in the chest as both girls momentarily forgot where they were. "The only bland vanilla here is your fucking lip balm flavor. By the way, regarding said lip balm? Eughh. And you _better_ take me, you gangly dingus."

Smiling brilliantly, Chloe lifted up her left hand, flashing Max's promise ring as it shined on the bluenette's ring finger. Taking the hand in both of hers, Max kissed the tips of Chloe's fingers to the other girl's delight before a coughing sound interrupted their public display of affection. Startled, Max looked over her shoulder and saw someone at the duty desk that she recognized.

"…Officer Berry?" Max asked, a small grin forming on her face as Chloe went to take a seat. _Afraid they'll preemptively book you for all the shit you'll probably get into, Che? Heh._

"Do I… _no_ , it can't be. Little Max Caulfield? Marshal Ryan's girl?" Officer Berry said, smiling as he reached over to give the freckled punk a hug, "Look at you, kid! You've grown up, Max, and evidently _she's_ been an influence on you."

Smirking as Officer Berry jerked a thumb in Chloe's direction, the bluenette responding with a _humph_ , Max giggled as she nodded. _I'd_ like _to think that I've been more of an influence on Chloe than she's been on me._ Undoing her ponytail, Max combed her fingers through her black hair until it resembled her usual hairstyle. _This dye reeks. I smell like the inside of Chloe's beanie times a thousand. Still, I'd rather smell like her room than this. Bleghh._

"So, um, I'm here for photos and a statement," Max said, her severe tone surprising the fatherly Officer Berry. "U-Uh, the David Madsen case?"

"How are you involved in that, Max? Heard the scumbag assaulted-"

Max flashed the inside of her forearm to Officer Berry, having been awkwardly holding her arm to hide the bruising, the dark violet bruising getting a cringe from the police officer as he looked up at Max with a pained expression.

"Max…," Officer Berry said, his voice disheartened, " _That_ shouldn't happen to anyone, ever. I'm sorry that it had to happen to you."

"That's the problem. It didn't _have_ to happen," Max uttered, feeling hostile at the memory of David grabbing her, "He's just a shit-stained douchebag."

Looking at Max incredulously, surprised that the language coming out of Max's mouth, Officer Berry reached over to slide a sign-in book towards the brunette. Quickly scribbling her name, Max adjusted her pink tank-top before Officer Berry asked her to take a seat. _I wish I had gotten blazed more at the junkyard_ , Max said, plopping down in the seat next to Chloe. Leaning her head on the taller girl's shoulder, Max bit her lip and closed her eyes. _I can already feel the anxiety beginning to rear itself up. I feel a little jittery, like I drank too much caffeine or something._ Feeling Chloe stroke her hair, Max nestled her head into the crook of her girlfriend's neck.

"I'm sorry this weekend has been so drama-laden, Che."

"Max, what the fuck are you talking about? Dude, _none_ of this is your fault. You didn't _ask_ to have people fucking hurt you, Max. You should've blazed some more, I can feel your lil ticker pumping hella hard, Maxnado."

"Heh, I was just thinking that a good toke was in order. Your dorm room? I need to try and figure out what I'm going to wear for this shindig later tonight."

"Shindig? Feels more like a hootenanny."

"Your dorm room's a hootenanny," Max said, letting out a small yawn.

"That made _zero_ sense, Max."

"That's fine. I give _zero_ fucks."

Both girls giggling, Max tilted her head up and smacked her lips until Chloe bent her head down to kiss the brunette. _Gimme more kisses, you_ , Max thought as she made whining puppy noises from the back of her throat. Chloe rolling her eyes, an amused look on her face, she leaned down again to give Max several smaller kisses.

"Better?" Chloe asked, smirking at the toothy smile on Max's face.

"Hella." Max laid her head back where it had been, looking down at the ring on Chloe's finger. "Were you surprised-"

"Max?" Officer Berry said, clicking off the radio attached to the shoulder epaulet of his uniform, "They're ready for you. You'll want to cross th' bullpen straight down the middle. Second door to the right when you walk past the divider between the pen and the hall."

Flashing a leisurely salute, Max smiled at Officer Berry before getting to her feet, Chloe in tow as they entered the door that had just opened with a buzzing sound emanating from it. The bullpen was little more than an open space in the building's center with a smattering of desks and chairs in random places. Crossing over to the other side of the building, Max and Chloe headed towards the door Officer Berry had instructed Max on.

"…Hello?" Max asked, knocking lightly on the wooden door. "I-I'm, uh, I'm Max."

"Ms. Caulfield?" a voice said from inside before the door unlocked with a _click_. A policewoman peered out from the door's other side, her face softening at the sight of Max, "Max? I'm Officer Wilcox. I'll be taking your statement and some…some photos of the injury sustained at the hands of Mr. Madsen. If you'll come inside, this shouldn't take too long.

"Can my girlfriend come in, too?" Max asked, her voice unimposing as she held onto Chloe's hand with emphasis. "I kinda need some support."

"…Sure, provided that _Chloe_ can behave. You can do that, can't you? Chloe?" Officer Wilcox said, cocking an amused eyebrow at the disgruntled bluenette to Max's amusement.

"I can behave! I'll totally behave! For Max, though. Just for Max. _Janine_ ," Chloe said, finishing her sentence with a tease that only made Officer Wilcox roll her eyes in response.

The statement and questions felt more like an interrogation to Max than just doing routine paperwork. _Maybe it's because I_ am _the incident, basically. David grabbed_ me, _hurt_ me. _Chloe said he tried to take a swing at her and Rachel, but I'm the one he actually got a hold of. Why does this shit happen to me? I didn't do anything except_ be myself _. Wowsers, this is such a load of bull._ Placing her arm on the table, Max watched gooseflesh start to appear from the surprising cool of the metal tabletop. Max squinted her eyes with each flash of the camera, her eyes not being directly in the light but close enough that it stung a bit. Acting under the policewoman's instructions, Max would turn her arm a little in one way or angle it just so. _You should just give me that camera. Which of us is actually_ studying _photography, lady? This might be forensic, but it's also photographic. That's my domain._

"So," Max said as they wrapped up, "Is he, well, is he still here?"

"Actually, if you can hold still in here for a few more minutes, you can avoid him atogether. He's headed to County as we speak, transfer orders coming from someone up top," Officer Wilcox said, winking at Max, "Nice to see that your dad still has some pull here, Max. A lot of us miss him."

"He misses this place, too." _Until we move back here! Giddy squee mode, disengage! Oh noes, Chloe proximity alert!_ _Wowsers, I_ am _a nerd._ _Eheheh._ "I'll tell him you all say hi."

Watching the policewoman head out the door, Max watched Chloe get up and head over to the table. Hopping onto the metal surface, Chloe slid over so that she was sitting in front of Max. Max grinned, standing up to kiss the bluenette. _You make me happy, Che, so fucking happy. When the news becomes for real, when I'm_ certain _, you will be the first to know I'm coming back for good. Cereally._ Biting her lip as she brushed her nose against Chloe's in an Eskimo kiss, Max let out an excitable giggle before kissing Chloe once more.

"Damn, Max," Chloe said, her words and breathing coming between the bare minimum of moments between Max's lips, "We do it the one time and now you're ready to jump my bones _anywhere_."

"Except that nasty-ass dump by the lighthouse," Max murmured before pulling back to appraise her blue-haired girlfriend. "That makes me realize something. You haven't taken me _anywhere_ uber-nice, though. Which is poop. I deserve _hella_ nice, Chloe. Spoil me rotten and I'll shower you with some 'hardcore' affection."

"'Hardcore', eh? Ooh-la-la. Babe, I will fucking shower you with love and even mushy shit when we get back to my dorm room. We can even come up with somewhere to run off to for the next trip one of us will make. How 'bout that? Seriously, zero worries are necessary, my little Maxling," Chloe said, her voice a purr as she wrapped her arms around Max's waist, "Man, when the fuck are they going to let us know the coast is clear? This is the most shitastic game of Simon Says _ever_." Chloe is just able to finish her last sentence before someone knocks at the door and snickers. "Uh, don't you see the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the knob? Occupado, dude."

"…Max?" a woman asks from out in the hall. Max thought that her blood might freeze in that instant if it were scientifically possible.

"…No," Max leapt out of her seat so fast that she knocked her chair over and scared Chloe. _This isn't happening. Not here…not_ now _…,_ Max thought as she ran over to the door and leaned her weight against it, "G-Go away! Go the fuck away!"

"Max, don't make a commotion," the voice said, straining as they pushed at the door Max was bracing herself against, "Is this…Max, get away from the door for heaven's sake."

"No!" Max yelled, her anger mixing with her terror as the door opened just enough for her to see one of the people on the other side. _Mom. You can't fucking_ be here _, Goddamnit! Why are you in Arcadia Bay!? This is_ my _home,_ my _place the fuck away from you!_ "H-How…why…"

"Max, let…me…in," Max heard her mother say and jumped back from the door as it swung open hard, her mother stumbling as she nearly fell face-first onto the floor. Running to the table, Max hid behind Chloe as the bluenette slid off the table with fists clenched. _Chloe…Chloe, help…_ , Max thought, the rage she normally felt overcome by the dread of such an unexpected appearance.

"You keep the hell away from her, Mrs. Caulfield," Chloe growled, her tone low and threatening as Joyce peeked around the doorway in confusion. Seeing the women together, Max watched Chloe eyes widen as her girlfriend came to some kind of conclusion. "Mom, what the _fuck_ did you do?"

"Chloe? What's all the ruckus about?" Joyce asked, joining the other women in the room before closing the door, "I was with Dee, filling out some paperwork in one of the offices when I hear that Max finally made it for her statement with you taggin' along. What's all this racket about?"

"…You didn't tell her," Max uttered, her eyes narrowed as she grew so angry that she felt eerily calm, "You are a cowardly-ass bitch, _Vanessa_."

"Max, don't talk to your mother like that." Joyce's stern tone shocked Max for a moment before she remembered that Joyce was getting stern without knowing the whole truth. Looking over at her mother, Max saw the confidence from only a minute ago fade away as panic gripped Vanessa Caulfield. "Would someone mind explainin' to me what is going on? What does she mean, Dee? What haven't you told me?"

"She hits Max, Mom," Chloe said through gritted teeth, Max unable to figure out who her girlfriend was madder at, "You didn't notice the fucking shiner Max has been sporting? Assy McShitstain here has been wrecking her daughter, Mom. Don't you fucking look at me like that, lady! Your daughter, _my girlfriend,_ is a fucking wreck because of you!"

"…Dee? Vanessa, is this true?" Joyce's alarmed tone, combined with her situating herself towards Max and Chloe, helped to lessen the diminutive brunette's anxiety to a more tolerable level.

"I'm _trying_ to get better, Max. I…I _came_ , didn't I?" Vanessa asked, her plaintive tone betrayed by the angry look in her eyes as she was slowly ganged up on by the girls and Joyce.

"You think…you actually think that just popping up with some 'Holly Homemaker', chickenshit half-truths are going to make things _better_?" Max asked incredulously, tears running down her cheeks as she situated herself behind both Price women, "I-I'm your daughter and you…and you _hit_ _me._ It might not be so bad if I knew that part of you wasn't actually sorry, that you're only playing the part of a caring mother instead of actually b-being one. Just…just go away. If you will do anything I ask, if you still love me in the twisted way you fucking do, please just leave."

Vanessa Caulfield paused for a moment, halted by the stinging words of her daughter. Max saw the shock on her mother's face and found that she no longer cared anymore. She was so nearly done with the woman who had stopped being her mother years ago, tired of a woman who had her family pretending everything was fine to keep up appearances. _The gifts, the fake-ass smiles, the bullshit lies about how I got hurt when you took me to school: you're a lying bitch who is only really good at one thing. Go back to Seattle and just keep lying to yourself, you twisted piece of shit._ So wrapped up in her thoughts, Max hardly noticed her mom take one step forward until Chloe shot out like a bullet at the older woman.

"I told you to get the fuck _away_!" Chloe yelled, rearing her fist back before clocking Max's mother across the jaw. Both Chloe and Max's mother were sent sprawling to the floor, Chloe out of sheer force as opposed to Vanessa's crumpled state from the impact of a fist against her face. Her eyes wide in horror, Max felt a pang in her gut that sickened her as she actually felt bad for the woman who had once _really_ been her mother. Walking over, Max ignored the hopeful look on Vanessa's face and helped an angry Chloe to her feet. Pulling her girlfriend away from the crumpled form of Vanessa Caulfield, Max Caulfield sat Chloe on the table as a policeman came in to see what was going on.

"Family squabble," Max said, facing away as she took a look at Chloe's split knuckle. "I promise it's the _last_ one, officer. I'm really sorry. We're all…we're all just so worked up, what with David and everything." _Sorry, Joyce. I'm sorry I have to use your pain to hide my own. I hate her, but she's still the woman who helped raise me along with my dad. For a time, anyway. I wish I could put her ass in jail, but I'm not as cruel as her. I don't want my dad to feel any more grief than he already has._

The officer eyeing all of them for a moment, Max being the sole exception as she tended after Chloe's split knuckle with gentle hands, he grunted before gesturing emphatically that they all needed to leave. Holding Chloe's uninjured hand, Max and her girlfriend walked alongside a weary-looking Joyce Price as Vanessa Caulfield stormed off. Seeing her mom turn around to look at her with a mortified expression, Max flipped the woman off with her free hand as she silently mouthed _Fuck off_.

"Stopping at the house before heading back to Chloe's?" Joyce asked, her worried tone getting a faint smile from Max as Chloe sat quietly in Max's jeep across the street. Standing on the sidewalk outside the police station, Max just wanted this to be over. _I owe it to Joyce to hear her out, to let her vent. I did a cruel thing, using the situation with David to hide_ her _abuse. Wowsers, I keep covering shit up. It has to stop sometime_. "Max…Max, I feel terrible. I had no idea that Dee, that Vanessa, had struck you. I wonder if that's why your father sounded so disappointed when I told him that I'd called your mother…"

"Probably. He just kicked her out, my black eye being the absolute last straw. Truth is," Max let out a sigh and smiled weakly at Joyce when Chloe's mom placed a reassuring hand on her freckled shoulder, "Truth is we haven't really been a family for some time now. Me and Dad have always been hella close, but Mom…she fell away, spent more and more time bitter and drunk. They're divorcing. I'm assuming she didn't tell you that, either?"

"Max…," Joyce said, her tone increasingly sorrowful as she gazed at the black-haired girl with a deep sadness in her eyes, "If you need to stay here in Arcadia Bay, my door is _always_ open. For now, just go be with Chloe. I have to head to work and you two need each other, now more than ever. We can talk later, okay?"

Max nodded and gave Joyce a hug before heading over to her jeep. Having parked across the street, Max saw Chloe turn her head so as to try and not give away her watching the display the other women had put on. Smiling at Chloe through the bluenette's passenger side window, Max felt the hollowness of the expression as her mother's lingering presence carved her out. _She had no right to come here, no right to even fucking care. I don't give a single shit if she birthed me, if she helped raise me. You_ don't _hit a child, let alone_ your _child._

"What up, SuperMax?" Chloe asked, her quiet tone undermining the attempt at humor, "Um, we headed back to Blackwell?"

"Slow your roll, my knight in shining beanie," Max said, leaning over to kiss Chloe on the cheek as the bluenette winced from poking at the cut on her knuckle, "I need to make a pit stop at the house before we go to your dorm and chill. Nice battle scar, by the way."

"Had to throw down, defend my lady from a fire-breathing bitch. Max, I-"

"We can talk at the dorm, Chloe. I…I just want to get there first, then unload. I need to bake like a baker makes a cake," Max said with in a deadpan manner, watching Chloe roll her eyes as a grin sheepishly began to appear.

* * *

The dorm room was softly illuminated by the sun sneaking in through Chloe's blinds, small pinhole-sized beams of light playing across the floor as a breeze made the vinyl sway. Kate had tried to come over but was gently rebuffed by Chloe as Max laid on the bluenette's bed and blew smoke rings. _We can practice later, Kate. I'm sorry, but I have some seriously dark stuff going through my mind right now and I wouldn't be any fun_ or _help._ Hearing her girlfriend talk to the shy blonde from out in the hall, Max forced herself to focus on where she was and not where she had been. Pushing the police station, save Chloe's defending her, and as much as she could of her mother into the back of her mind, Max sighed before finishing off her joint.

"Toking without me? You broke pot etiquette, Max," Chloe said, chuckling as she closed the door behind her, "Penalty is death."

"B-But officer, I swear that it was _really_ important. My sanity was on the line, swear to Dog." Max played along, her voice plaintive despite her struggling not to laugh.

"Well," Chloe said, eyeing Max mischievously as she slid into bed alongside the black-haired girl, "I suppose that since it is your first offense I will give you a reduced sentence. Life without possibility for being without me, and 1,000 hours of community doobies. Share, nerd."

Showing that her joint was nearly gone, Max took Chloe's shrug as indifference and passed the near-finished pot to her girlfriend as she curled up next to the bluenette. _This is better than anything, being right here with you. I don't care if it is 'Black-Hell' or the bedroom back at Joyce's. You're like fucking magic for me, Che. Better than any high I could possibly get._ Letting out a pleased sound, Max felt Chloe's body quiver from a repressed giggle but didn't care.

"Max, we hella need to talk. For real, Babe," Chloe said, her tone apologetic as she lifted herself up into a sitting position. Max clutched onto the bluenette and smiled in amusement as Chloe groaned before hoisting Max up so they were sitting next to each other. "I, uh, I have a question. I'd like a serious answer."

"Go ahead." Max's easygoing mood dissipated in the face of Chloe's determined tone. _Something's wrong_ , Max thought.

"It's been so whirlwind this weekend, Max, but I noticed something at the house last night. You have _way_ more bags than you actually needed for just a weekend. Tell me the truth, Max. Were you planning on running away?"

"…Yes," Max's answer simplified into a single word. _Wowsers, Che. Cut me to the fucking quick, why don't you? Is it so wrong, wanting to leave all that bad shit in Seattle behind?_

"When were you going to tell me about this master plan?" Chloe asked, continuing her line of questioning without a single flutter in her voice.

"I-I actually was planning on finding a way to stick around here for a bit. I, well, I have money saved. I do have phone and car insurance payments, but most of what I make goes into my savings. I've been thinking about ditching Seattle for a while," Max fidgeted with her hands as she unraveled her escape plan.

"What about me? Do I even figure into this scheme of yours, dude? Were you going to fucking bail on-"

"Chloe Elizabeth Price, you better rewind that shit back. _Right now_." The build-up of strength in Max's voice alarmed Chloe, but the pain managing to seep through the smaller girl's words brought the bluenette back. "I would _never_ bail on you like that. Not after we just got each other back. I was going to ask if you'd come with me, all romance and adventure like when we were kids."

"We're not kids anymore, Max. I'd love to take off with you, go everywhere we possibly can. I…I need to at least finish school first, Babe. Barring anything life-threatening, my educmacation needs to be at least more than 'some high school'. What about Arcadia Bay? You could just stay here, live at my house. Mom will love the company, especially with step-fuehrer gone."

"With everything going on now, I'll probably head back to Seattle for the time being. Put the fantasy of perpetual nightly nookie on hold, Che." _Until I likely come back with Dad in tow because we'll be living here again! Woot! Aghhh, I want to tell you so bad!_ Pulling another doobie out of her pocket, Max was about to light it when Chloe took it and set it on the floor. "You're cutting me off?"

"I've got something else in mind," Chloe said, moving in to kiss Max.

Pinned to the bed, Max felt Chloe slide along top of her as they kissed. Eyes closed, Max's tongue darted in and out of Chloe's mouth as their lips drew each other back in. Sliding her hand from Chloe's hip to the small of her girlfriend's back, Max pushed with her hand so Chloe was pressed against her even more. Hearing a moan escape her own lips, Max opened her eyes to see Chloe looking down at her as they kissed. _Because that's not creepy at_ all _, Chloe. Staring me down while fooling around is totally_ not _cool._ Narrowing her eyes in displeasure, Max closed them once more as their kisses grew wetter. Feeling Chloe lick her lips, Max caught and began to suck on Chloe's tongue as her hand slid into the girl's jeans.

"Are we…I mean, _now_?" Chloe asked, pulling away to for a moment to catch her breath. "What about practice?"

"Are you fucking cereal?" Max asked, looking at her girlfriend in a mixture of irritation and disappointment. Shaking her head in disapproval, Max removed her hand from Chloe's jeans and reached for the joint that had been taken from her. "If you're going to just lay on me, then I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't, Chloe. Let me bake."

"Max…"

"I want to make love to you and you worry about other shit? Why do you think I was so happy to fucking come down here? The fish? The fucking touristy shit? I…came…here…for… _you_ ," Max poked at Chloe's chest with each of the five spaced-out words, "So what do you do, just now? _You_ _blow me off right as we're about to fuck._ I'm going to go see Kate. She wanted to practice, so we'll practice."

Pushing herself up, Max eyed Chloe until the bluenette sadly moved aside to let her through. Snatching up her guitar and amp, Max looked at Chloe menacingly from over her shoulder before opening and slamming the door shut. _Ugh! Jesus fucking Christ, Che! Are your wires fucking crossed? When your girlfriend, the girl who just gave you a promise ring and hasn't seen you in months, wants to give herself to you_ again _you should say 'hallelujah' and not 'duhhhh'…_ , Max thought as she stormed over to Kate's door. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Max heard Chloe's door crack open but chose to ignore it as she opted to knock on the door in front of her. _Fucking sulk, Chloe, and think on your rejection of my nookie offer. Honest to Dog, I just don't get you sometimes. I love you, but I definitely don't always understand you._

"Hello?" Max heard Kate ask from inside her dorm room.

"It's Max. I…did you want to practice?" Max stifled her anger, forcing her voice to level out. _Don't be mad at Kate. She's too sweet and isn't deserving of your sexual frustration and angst. Ugh, Chloe goddamn Price. Geez._

"Yes! I mean, sure," Max heard Kate compose herself and tried not to giggle as the shy blonde opened the door and let Max in. "I'm sorry if I was interrupting something. I just thought getting some time in before tonight might be a good idea."

"Kate, you're spot on with that. Don't worry, either. You didn't interrupt anything that Chloe didn't all on her own," Max said, nearly blurting out her frustration.

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Play?"

"Play."

The girls gathered their instruments, Max getting a curious look from Kate as she locked the girl's door, and started to play. Getting a familiarity started, Max would play a rhythm and wait for Kate to catch on before the blonde would follow in kind with something to whet Max's musical curiosity. Breaking out a folder of sheet music, Kate blushed when Max chuckled at how thick the stack of music was. _Holy crap, she's a prodigy or something. Yo-Yo Kate, now with violin! Pull string to hear ear ambrosia that will melt your brain!_

"Wow, Kate. Seriously, you're amazing," Max said, gushing at the skill of Kate's playing. "I'm self-taught and even with lessons I don't think I could ever catch up to you."

"Max, stop," Kate said, her face only getting redder with a shy grin plastered on it, "You're good, too. Don't sell yourself short."

"Yeah, but you're amazeballs," Max said, pausing to hear footsteps retreating from Kate's door as someone headed further into the hall. _Chloe, no doubt_. "So…any ideas for a song? Apocalyptica, I'm assuming."

"If that's okay. It's just nice to meet someone who likes them, too." _Seriously, Kate, you are way too adorable. How are you alive, a coherent mass of sunlight in the form of a shy music nerd?_ "You okay, Max?"

"That obvious, huh?"

"A little."

"Oh, I got into it with Chloe. Immediately before coming to practice with you. I feel bad, railing at her like I did."

"What happened?" Kate asked, setting her violin in its case.

"…Private stuff…," Max said, her voice low as her face heated up. _I was pretty stupid…and selfish…and kind-of a bitch. I should apologize to Che before she gets worked up more than she likely is._ "Um, can we pick a song? I'm sorry, but I feel a need to make myself less of an ass and beg my girlfriend for forgiveness."

"Max, I _can_ play on the stage by myself. I just asked because I thought it might be fun. We can always play another time," Kate said, her warm smile causing Max to feel even more embarrassed in the face of such kindness. "I would like your number, though, if it's not too much trouble. It's always nice to make new friends. Heh, even stoner ones."

Smirking at Kate's attempt at humor, Max typed in Kate's phone number and sent the girl a text so that they had each other in their contact lists. Unplugging and securing her guitar and amp, Max smiled at Kate before heading out into the hallway. Seeing Chloe's door quickly shut, Max slumped her shoulders as found herself being the sulking one as she headed to her girlfriend's door. Knocking a few times, Max leaned her head against the door in resignation. _I fucked up. Just say it, let her know you're sorry. Not like it's the first time. Are all relationships this hard?_

"Chloe, I'm sorry. I was being a shit, and you didn't deserve my rage. I…I just wanted you, and felt a little hurt when you didn't seem to want me back. Please forgive me? I need my Che," Max pouted at the silence. Sitting next to Chloe's doorway, Max pulled out her phone and began to type.

 **Max: Che? Please answer me.**

 **Max: I sowwy**

 **Chloe: …you were fucking mean**

 **Chloe: And I didn't deserve it**

 **Max: I know. I'm horrible, sometimes. I really am.**

 **Max: I just wanted you, wanted to be with you**

 **Chloe: I kinda got that, Max**

Max heard the sound of someone sitting down on the other side of Chloe's door as she paused in her typing. Looking over at the closed door, Max smirked before continuing.

 **Max: You plop your butt at the door?**

 **Chloe: …maybe…**

 **Max: I don't really feel like playing tonight. I think I might have bailed.**

 **Chloe: Oh no! Max, Dude, I hella need to hear you play…**

 **Max: Only if you sing. Just you and me.**

 **Max: Che, I don't get you for very long. Days at a time when we're together. I just want to take in as much of you as possible. I want to breathe you in and taste you on my lips. I want to remember how that feels so that I have something until we're able to get together again.**

 **Max: Long-distance relationships are hard**

Hearing shuffling around from the inside Chloe's room, Max scrambled to her feet as the bluenette peeked out from the opening door. Max wanted to scream at Chloe, try and get into her girlfriend's head how scared she was of the time that would pass between their next weekend together. Max needed Chloe to be there for her, wanted the bluenette to understand why she was being so demanding. _Please talk to me._

"Please talk to me," Max whispered, looking down at the single finger she was holding onto. "Please tell me _something_ , Chloe."

"Just shut up, Max, and give me a minute," Chloe said as she revealed the towel she was wearing, "I'll be right back."

Sitting on Chloe's dresser, now sporting the other girl's sleep t-shirt and shorts, Max kicked her dangling legs as she waited for her girlfriend to return. Feeling her face warm up at the recollection of Chloe's hands and lips on her body, Max felt a shiver run down her body. _Chloe can get pretty worked up, too. Good to know, eheheh, but I'm a_ little _nervous at what she has cooked up. That impish look will get us both into hella trouble someday._ Max snickered at the idea of her floating away, feeling so comfortably light and free. The police station was a forgotten memory, buried away as Max simply watched in anticipation as the door knob turned. Watching Chloe poke her head into the room, clad only in a towel, Max quickly slid off the dresser and walked up to Chloe.

"You sure about this? There are still other people on the floor, Che." _I want to have some fun, but I don't want to risk her getting into too much trouble. Chloe's had enough grief this weekend courtesy of me. She doesn't need anymore._

"You're worried about shit _now,_ after getting hella pissed from _my_ backing down? You are an emotional clusterfuck sometimes, Max Caulfield, with _the_ oddest fucking sense of timing ever. If you wuss out now, after giving me shit earlier, I will tease the hell out of you until the end of time," Chloe said, shooting Max a menacing grin as she walked over to take her girlfriend by the hand, "Besides…it's just a shower. Come on, Max. Get wet with me."

"See?" Chloe asked as she ran a soapy washcloth down Max's back, "Isn't this fucking great?"

"We did this last night, Che."

"You were fucking halfway catatonic from all the melodrama, dude. No matter how amazeballs it was, it doesn't beat this. Besides, doing sneaky shit here is fun. Except you washed out the dye. That's hella lame, Caulfield. Your rep will drop some for that."

Max shrugged as she grinned at the feeling of Chloe washing her back. _Thank Dog she is, or I'd have some weird zebra-ish stripes running down my back_. While Max hadn't minded the hair dye, she was adamant in the need to be rid of it. _Ugh, it still reeks, even with most of it down the drain. Begone, evil dye of funkiness! Abandon my hair, all dye who enter here!_ Clenching her hands into fists as she leaned against the shower wall, Max gritted her teeth so as to not cry out. _How can a shower feel this good? With extra Che, that's how._ Turning around as Chloe pulled her hand away, Max gave her girlfriend a sly smile as she slipped her hand inside Chloe.

"We just had sex!" Chloe whispered, biting at her lip as Max rubbed her hand against Chloe's pussy.

"What if there's more?" Max asked before giving Chloe a quizzical look. "There _is_ more, right?"

"… _uhnnn_ , Max you're fucking terrible…," Chloe let out with a stifled moan, covering her mouth as Max began to kiss her abdomen, "Don't…don't stop. You're fucking insane, Max, but don't stop…"

"Aye, Captain."

"If you make a 'booty' joke, I'll fucking leave."

"Arrr."

"Jesus fuck, Max. Less joking, more fucking."

Giggling as she pressed her face against Chloe's chest, Max's body shook while she went to work on her girlfriend. Biting gently at Chloe's nipple, Max sucked on it for a moment before pulling back to kiss her girlfriend. Water smacking them from the side, the kiss's heat was added onto by the steam of the water. _I'm turning into a sex fiend. Okay,_ Max thought as she slid her fingers out of Chloe and teased her girlfriend by sucking at the fingers Chloe was using to muffle the noises escaping her. Smiling at the sight of Chloe's eyes rolling up from ecstasy, Max went finger by finger as she kissed and slid each one into her mouth individually before kissing the back of Chloe's hand.

Moving along the bluenette's arm, Max began to pepper Chloe's entire body with quick little kisses until she felt her girlfriend buckle. _Not yet, Che. Not just yet_ , Max tilting her head up to kiss Chloe. Mouths colliding forcefully, Max and Chloe wrapped their arms around each other as they got lost while exploring each other. Hands fumbling as they their arms bumped into each other, Max pulled away as she was unable to stifle her laughter. Both girls froze, terrified at the prospect of someone hearing.

"We should go." Chloe whispered, moving to grab her towel only to be stopped by Max snatching it from her as the brunette tossed the towel out into the sink area. " _Max_!"

"What?" Max looked at her girlfriend with an innocent smile. _I'm just an innocent little girl, all alone in the…pffft, I can't say that. I can't even think it without calling bullshit on myself._ Unable to keep a straight face, Max bit at her lip to stop herself from laughing at the look of genuine shock on Chloe's face. _I wish I had my camera on me. You're such a dork right now, Chloe. This moment needs to be recorded for posterity's sake._ "I didn't do anything."

"You're fucking terrible, Max."

"Eheheh."

Sliding her hand down Chloe's abdomen, Max let it rest as she played with Chloe's belly ring. Tracing her finger around the small stud poking out, Max winked up at Chloe before inching her hand closer to Chloe's pussy. Chloe tilted her head back, Max relishing the fevered look on the bluenette's face as she slipped two fingers inside Chloe and began to pump them in and out. Thrusting her fingers slowly as she squeezed Chloe's side with the other, Max would tease her girlfriend by stopping whenever the taller girl would began to shiver. Looking up to see Chloe panting, meeting Max's eyes with an incredulous look that was only emphasized by the parting of her lips when Max would start back up. _You're mine, Chloe. I've got you, right here and now._ Feeling a hand begin to creep down her own belly, Max pushed it away to hear a defeated sound escape Chloe's lips.

"Max? Did I-"

"I…I just want to please _you_ , Chloe. Don't worry about me, Babe. Let me give you something good, okay?" Max asked, her voice losing its sultry edge as her actual yearning revealed itself. Max was good at playing a part, something she painfully knew came from her mother doing the same thing to her, but she didn't want to be that way with Chloe. _I'm scared of leaving, of you leaving. I worry that I won't be enough, being so far away. Weekends are nice but I want you for the rest of my_ life _, Che. Let me do this, let me give you my love._ Squatting down, her eyes pools of blue as she leaned her head against Chloe's belly, Max felt a hand brush through her hair

"Max…"

"Chloe, I love you. I love you so much. L-Let me…let me show you. Please?" Looking up from where her head was resting, Max's worry brought a gasp out of Chloe as the brunette was moved to tears.

"Max," Chloe said, kneeling down next to Chloe, "You don't have to do this. I _know_ how much I mean to you, Baby. Really, I do. Why…why are you so scared? What's going on behind that freckled face of yours?"

Max leaned against Chloe, the taller girl propping herself up against the wall so Max could snuggle up next to her with the hot water cascading down their heads. Max's body shook as she fought off the urge to just break down completely. _She's right here, holding me, and here's my dumb ass terrified that I'll blink and she's gone. Nearly everyone who has loved me has betrayed me in some way, Chloe. How do I tell you that I'm afraid you might do the same without breaking your heart?_

"Is this from before, when you were scared of being hurt?" Chloe asked, her voice as soft as her gentle holding of Max.

"Not fair," Max said, frowning as she pulled herself closer to the bluenette, "You're not allowed to be psychic."

"We're both damaged as fuck, Max. I don't need to be psychic because I get scared, too. How about this? You promise me you'll be honest with me, cut the bullshit and humor when you're spiraling, and I'll do the same. Serious, relationship stuff. Promise?" The sincerity in Chloe's voice helped to ease Max's emotional pain, and the brunette nodded as she leaned her head on her girlfriend's chest.

Max felt awkward, standing before the other girls in only her underwear. _Keep calm and carry on,_ _Max. It's just them staring at me…dressing me up like a fucking doll…holy balls, this is embarrassing…_

"I _can_ dress myself," Max said to Rachel, Kate and Chloe going over music as the brunettes addressed each other. Rachel had been put in charge of helping Max find a suitable style for the evening. "I'm not as unfashionable as you think. Ask Chloe!"

"She dressed the rock star part in Seattle, but I think my Babe is a little overwhelmed by the 'awesomeness' of Arcadia Bay," Chloe said, grinning as she continued to go over songs with Kate.

 _Ugh, this is so uncool!_ Max thought as she scowled in the direction of her girlfriend, _I can look cool! I totally can!_ Disgruntled, Max sat on Chloe's bed and wrapped her arms across her chest from being so exposed.

"Maxaroni, cool down." Max eyed an apologetic Rachel, shooting her friend a glare as she was handed some clothes to try on. "We're just trying to find you a killer ensemble, dude. No need to act like we're preparing you for a fucking execution. Chlo, tell your girlfriend to behave!"

"Behave!" Chloe said in a flat, uninterested tone

"That was so fucking lame, I have even less faith in this," Max said, shaking her head at outfit after outfit until Rachel finally gave up, "You only went through the bag on the floor. Did you not think that I wouldn't have something in case _Chloe took me somewhere nice_?" Seeing Chloe flinch at the reminder of their only date over the weekend being a meal at Two Whales, Max held the scowl as she walked over to the closet.

Pulling out a garment bag she'd hidden in the back, Max kicked all three girls out of the room. Poking Chloe in the side as she passed, Max saw her mouth _Sorry_ and made a point of scowling once more. _Not take me somewhere nice when I took you all over the place…I'll show you what you missed, romantically-challenged dork._ Unzipping the bag, Max slid out each article of clothing inside before walking over to her duffel. Dumping out the contents, making a point of setting her stash aside so it could be secreted away once more, Max pulled out her Chuck Taylor combat boots. Looking in the mirror, Max played with her hair until it was mostly untangled and didn't bat an eye when Rachel said that she and the others would be in Kate's room. _Fine by me. I'll show you all, muahahaha._

"Yes?" Max heard Kate ask, her voice fleeting as a silence exuded from behind the door of her room. _Dog, they're so quiet. Are they expecting_ that _much of an epic fail? I'm almost 17, dudes. I can fucking dress myself._ Shaking her head in slight irritation, Max cleared her throat to speak.

"May I come in?" Max knew they'd let her in, but she wanted to emphasize her politeness in the face of being Rachel's plaything for the previous 10 minutes of changing and unchanging. _Friends don't let friend put up with that kind of shit_. When Kate had unlocked the door, Max's entrance was met with giggles from Rachel and Kate as Chloe choked on her own breath.

"She's tryin' to kill me," Chloe gasped, her voice raspy as she coughed. "I'll be right back, ladies. I'm off to bang my girlfriend's brains out. Come on, Max. We got bangin' to do."

Max blushed, holding her arm awkwardly in a way that she saw made Chloe even more flustered as the bluenette sputtered in her chair. A plaid, sleeveless mini-dress with the skirt to just above her knees, the formfitting red and black was met with jet black thigh-high socks and a pair of combat boots. Her hair its usual style with only a vague hint of eyeliner being the solely visible makeup, Max put a hand on her hip and started singing happy birthday to Chloe in an imitation of Marilyn Monroe. Getting cat-called by Rachel, Max had winked at her friend which only made Chloe get even redder.

"W-We were just finishing the set list, Max," Chloe stammered, much to Max's delight, "After we had everything set, I was going to come back to bang you. _Fuck_ , I mean fuck you. No, _get_ you. I was totally going to get on you. Agh, I need a smoke!"

"You can smoke me, Che," Max said, smacking Chloe's ass as the bluenette hurried past her out into the hall.

"F-F-Fuck!" Chloe said, flustered and red in the face as she first headed toward her room before turning around and making for the stairway.

" _I_ have your cigarettes, Chloe."

"…Shit," Chloe said, turning around to hold out her hand as she approached Max, trying to ignore the wry look on Rachel's face as Kate was simply at a loss for words. "Hand 'em over. No pulling them out your dress, either. My nose won't bleed like a goddamn anime character, Max."

Max nodded, then lifted the right-hand side of her skirt so that she could remove Chloe's pack of smokes from the cuff of her socks. Eyeing Chloe with an impish smirk, Max pulled the cigarettes back when Chloe went for them and gave her awkwardly flustered girlfriend a kiss before settling the smokes in Chloe's jacket pocket. _Act like_ I _can't dress. A successful "Fuck you" to all three of you, heh. I rock._ Patting the pocket where she'd deposited Chloe's nicotine fix, Max stood up on her tip-toes and kissed Chloe on the lips.

"You…you taste like s-strawberries…"

"It's my lip balm, Che. Like it?"

"Hella…holy shit…I g-gotta go…"

Waiting until Chloe was out the door and in the stairway, Max spun on her heel and did a curtsey to Rachel's delight, the tall girl clapping and giggling even harder when Max flipped her off while saying "I'm not your goddamn dress-up doll".

"Ladies," Max said as she slipped a square of paper out of bra, "I have something I'd like to add onto the set list, if that's okay."

* * *

The Pier was packed with both minors from around the area and adults who had come to watch the local musicians to perform. The main acts lined up for _after_ the open mic portion of the evening, Max and the girls had been disappointed to find each performer or group for the open mic was limited to only three songs. _Three's better than just one, I guess_ , Max thought, shouldering her guitar case to show Rachel all the crossed-off performers. _We get lucky at others' expense. Cute. They could at least take these poor bastards' names off the list. It's like a stay of execution, they doodled and wrote nasty shit on the cancelled acts. Glad I got convinced to not back out._

"What a bunch of assholes," Max said, raising her voice over the increasingly loud people in the club, showing Chloe the list of cancelled acts and hurtful graffiti, "I'm glad you talked me back into this, Che. For cereal. Ugh, it's so goddamn loud!"

"Max! What?"

"I said that I'd like to bang you right now!"

"That's what we're doing, nerd! We're going in the back to hang now!" Chloe said, giving Max a confused look when the brunette gave her a mischievous smirk. "You said something dirty, didn't you?"

"I said something flirty? What?"

"Don't pretend like you can't hear me!" Chloe shouted as they weaved through the crowd toward the back area reserved for performers. As the noise was shut out by the closing double doors, Chloe spun on the heel of her right boot and eyed Max with suspicion.

"…Are you high?" Chloe asked, seeing the slightly spacey look on Max's face.

"I-I might have taken _half_ a Tramadol, Che," Max said, looking away before seeing the disapproving look on Chloe's face, "Don't give me that look, Chloe. I'm still anxious as fuck and you're being harsh, you giant dork. Besides, it's _prescribed and used as directed. I'm using it as directed._ Chill out!"

Taking Chloe's hand forcefully, Max shoved the people in front of them aside until they caught up to Rachel and Kate. _Eat shit, assholes_ , Max nearly said as she flipped off the people complaining behind them. _This place is so loud and there's so many people here. Wowsers, I think that I might vomit. Honest to Dog, I may actually barf._

"Chloe, can you hold my guitar?" Max asked, tugging on Chloe's jacket as the bluenette borrowed Rachel's hair spray and began to shape her blue locks into a fauxhawk. "Chloe? I'm gonna hurl."

"C'mon, Max," Kate said, taking Max by the hand to the sole bathroom. Dressed in blue jeans and a hoodie she had been given by Rachel because she had refused all of Rachel's other clothing options, Kate had reluctantly let her hair down and it now hung partly over her face with one eye obscured.

"You look really cute, Kate," Max said, squeezing her friend's hand, "Are you scared?"

"Max. I'm horrified." Kate's nervous smile only made Max more nervous. _If the prodigal daughter is horrified, what about Chloe? I should have given her a joint, or snuck some beer in. She's got to be a wreck, despite putting on the brave front._

Thanking Kate as she bent down at the toilet, Max felt herself dry heave while the blonde held onto her hair and the guitar. Wishing that at least something would come up as opposed to just making her throat raw and hurt, Max nearly leaned onto the toilet rim out of exhaustion and worry before Kate pulled her head up by the fistful of hair she had gripped. Max wanted to run, willing to mow everyone down in the club if it meant fresh air and space to breathe. _What the fuck was I thinking? Dog, this is going to be a goddamn nightmare and I'm never going to get a straight face out of anyone out there._

"Kate, you can let go now," Max said before getting to her feet.

"Sorry," Kate said, quickly letting go of Max's hair.

Splashing cold water on her face, Max and Kate left the bathroom with Max wiping her face off with a wad of paper towels. Seeing that Chloe and Rachel had found a spot near the back wall, Max rushed over as quickly as the crowd would allow and wrapped her arms around a surprised Chloe. Hearing the bluenette chuckle as she put her own arms around Max, the little brunette was careful to not mess Chloe's shirt up too much. _That_ is _my shirt, after all_ , Max looking at the "Kathleen Hanna Was Right" wording she had written on the fabric. Her brown leather jacket, Max's t-shirt, and torn jeans with her boots made up Chloe's "outfit", thought even she admitted that it really was just the same type of stuff she usually wore.

"We're up first," Chloe said after some hesitation, looking over at Rachel nervously.

" _What?!_ " Kate and Max asked in unison, looking first at Rachel and then at Chloe. Max was the next to speak.

"Whose idea was _that_?"

"Don't look at me," Rachel said, holding her hands up defensively, "I'm just the roadie. Your guilty party is the girl with blue hair."

"Chloe Elizabeth Price," Max said, poking her girlfriend in the chest, "We're all fucking terrified and you put us _first_? Never mind the fear. We're going to get booed out of the building!"

"C-Chill, Max," Chloe said, trying to appease her enraged girlfriend, "It can't be that bad. You'll drop some hella chords, Kate will get her mastery on, and I'll just scream in the mic!"

"Chloe…"

" _Sing_ in the mic! Sing!"

Pulling Kate over by the hand, Max gave her shy friend a hug as Kate looked on the verge of tears from all the tension building up in her. _She's shaking. Goddamnit, this was a bad idea._

"Kate," Max said, looking straight into Kate's eyes, "You _don't_ have to go up. For cereal." Seeing the look on Chloe and Rachel's collective faces, she flashed them a warning look before continuing. "Just stay back here with Rachel, okay? Decompress and chill out. Rachel, she's shaking. Can you keep her company? _Please_?"

"Way to take charge, Max," Rachel said, her confidence in them wavering when Max informed her it was likely because she was on her meds and they made her high. "Uh, yeah, I'll look after her."

"Max, I'm sorry," Kate said before blushing as Max kissed her on the forehead.

Pulling Chloe aside as the bluenette finally started to show signs of panic, Max pulled her head down for a long, passionate kiss. Ignoring the thunderous feeling in her own chest, Max would not let Chloe pull back until she felt her girlfriend's faint trembling subside. Max finally let her go as they both sucked in a breath of air. _I'm nervous, you're nervous, but we're together. Che, you pulled me into this shit, so I'm going to yank you out of it._

"Who are you and what did you do with Max Caulfield?" Chloe asked, "Also, can I get a refill?"

"Smartass," Max said with a smirk as she kissed Chloe again, "C'mon. I think they're asking for us near the door."

The makeshift stage near the back was illuminated by lamps that had been turned so they shone down on the raised platform. A couple speakers set along the edge, the stage was made of wood and carpeted with what Max thought was a cheap knockoff of black velvet. _Hello Gallows, my old friend…_

"Play something already!" a patron shouted, snapping Max out of her thoughts as Chloe looked at her nervously, her punk appearance wavering under her anxious demeanor.

 _Fuck it. Here we go._

"I'm Max, this is Chloe. We're Partners-In-Crime. Our first song is 'I'm So Sad, So Very, Very, Sad'," Max said, a couple laughs coming from the crowd, "No, not really. Our first song is 'Don't Mess With Me' by Brody Dalle." Looking at the drummer and bassist who were supplied to the smaller groups like herself and Chloe, Max nodded at them and Chloe before her girlfriend counted them off.

"One…Two…One-Two- _Three_!" Chloe cried out, her voice opening up as she started to belt out the opening lyrics, "Here they come with their guns, guns, guns…"

Max bounced on her heels as she let the music and Chloe blur out the staring people in the club. The entire song seemed to Max as though it were in slow-motion whenever she would look over to see the look of pure joy on Chloe's face. Max's heart seized at how beautiful Chloe looked on stage, alternating between singing and screaming into the mic when the music called for it. _She's loving this, and I'm loving her all the more for it._ Max smiled to herself before joining the bluenette for the final chorus, both girls belting out "Don't wanna mess with me…Don't mess with me…" before Chloe went into the final stanza of the song. Max laughed as she and Chloe played against each other, Chloe holding onto the last note as Max held on with her.

"Whew," Max said, having stepped away from her mic as she went to drink some of the bottled water provided for them, Chloe coming over to join her.

"Dude, this is _fucking hardcore_!" Chloe said over the moderate amount of applause, both girls seeing Kate and Rachel clap excitedly from near back door. Scrunching her nose up in a giddy smile, Max pulled Chloe down by the collar and kissed her hard. Hearing cheering in the crowd, Max flipped them off as she blushed before moving back up to her mic with Chloe joining her at the bluenette's own microphone.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Max said, chiding the crowd, "We're queer so fucking get over it. That right, Babe?"

"You are on another fucking planet right now, I swear to God," Chloe said, beaming at Max. Laughing when Max blushed again, "My girlfriend, everybody. A clusterbomb of feels, she is."

Not wanting to banter on the stage, Max quickly told the crowd that their second song was "Rebel Girl" by Bikini Kill. Having squeed in Kate's room when Rachel had showed her they selected it, Max had been waiting nearly all night just to play it. _The first song I ever bothered to_ really _learn._ Chloe didn't know the lyrics as well as Max, so Max would be singing lead with Chloe helping on the chorus. Her hands shaking a little as the crowd waited with some impatience, Max looked over at Chloe as her anxiety threatened to overwhelm her. _Help me_ , Max mouthed to her girlfriend, Chloe responding by coming over to her and giving her a kiss before whispering to her.

"Max. This is what you've been waiting for all night. You got this," Chloe said, her voice a little shaky but encouraging as she kissed Max one more time. "You don't need luck. You got me, dude."

Max felt a weight pull away from inside her and she followed the starting drums with her guitar. Working herself up, Max swore under her breath that she'd kick her own ass if she fucked up the one song that she wanted to play more than any of the others they had flipped through hours ago. _Here we go. Do or drop your guitar and flee for your life, Max…_

"That girl thinks she's the queen of the neighborhood  
She's got the hottest trike in town…That girl she holds her head up so high…I think I want to be her best friend, yeah…," Max sang, her voice only shaky after the first line as she watched Chloe look at her with an encouraging smile while mouthing _Go, Max! Go!_

The Bikini Kill song having gone off well-enough, Max felt her confidence at an all-time high as Chloe went for another drink of water. Walking over with her hands plucking at the guitar strings, Max smiled at her girlfriend and playfully head-butted Chloe's shoulder. Chloe looked down and smiled as she finished tossing her hair around so that it had finished reverting to its usual state. _RIP, fauxhawk,_ Max thought, _We hardly knew thee_. Sighing, Max pulled Chloe off-stage by the elbow before looking at her girlfriend. Chloe's smile faltered a bit at the serious look on Max's face, even further when she was handed Max's guitar.

"You're quitting?" Chloe asked, her voice one of dismay, " _Dude_. They're eating it up, Max! We're getting cheered! The last time that happened we were in pee-wee sports and it was our dad's hollering at us from behind the fence!"

"Che…I have a song…"

"Yeah? Well, let's get to it!" Chloe exclaimed, moving to head back up the stage before Max cut her off.

"It's my own. It's…it's about my mom and me…"

"M-Max…," Chloe said, her elation disappearing as she looked her girlfriend in the eye, "Maxnado, are you _sure_ about this? I get that it's cool, you having a song of your own for the crowd. With everything that's happened recently, though, don't you think that…well…maybe you shouldn't-"

"I-If I don't get it out now, I'm n-not sure I'll ever be able to be move forward, Chloe," Max blurted out, having to raise her voice over the crowd as some started to complain. Looking at the stage to see a teenage boy try to placate the crowd, Max sighed and looked at Chloe. "I need you with me on this. I need you to just stay here for me, in case I fall or can't go finish it. I…I have to _try_ , Chloe. You protected me, today. Let me finish what you started, and we can _really_ get started."

Max let Chloe go and headed back up to the stage. When the boy, Nathan Prescott, tried to chew her out for leaving a full house waiting, Max flipped him off square in the face to the crowd's sudden delight. More than a little humiliated, Nathan tried to spin her around to confront Max when the house bassist grabbed Nathan by the arm and shoved him off stage. Sheepisly grinning at the man as he and the other house musicians left, Max pulled out her lyrics and a music stand. Walking to the stool and acoustic guitar set out for her while she had been talking with Chloe, Max nervously finished preparing for her original piece. Looking over to see Rachel and Kate joining Chloe, all three girls sharing concerned looks with each other, Max audibly gulped before speaking.

"U-Uh…," Max stuttered, blushing as she heard someone in the crowd snicker. Looking into the group of people, Max saw Victoria watching her with an amused smirk. _It's looks like that which only make me more pissed off. Thanks, Vicky. I needed your shit-eating disposition._ "Hey, everybody. This last song, um, is personal. I wrote it and I just want to warn you that I'm not fucking around when I say it will not be upbeat. It's called 'Dear Mother'. One..two..one-two-three…"

Do you remember

How you'd wash my hair?

I'd laugh in the bath water

Under your loving care.

Where the fuck did time go

When you were walking through,

Without a goddamn clue,

After the shit you put me through?

Dear Mother, I'm not sorry

For all the walls I put up

Feeling as your gentle kiss

Turned into a heartbreaking fist

Your love came with domestic violence

Your heart was lacking in common sense

Home isn't where my heart is…

Dear Mother, is this all there is?

This new admission

That I will go on my own

Your face fading from memory

Till there's nothing but bone

In the face of everything you've done

In the heat of a battle I barely won

Clawing through the wall

I built to hide it all…

Dear Mother, I'm not sorry

For all the walls I put up

Feeling as your gentle kiss

Turned into a heartbreaking fist

Look what you did to me

Look what you did to me

You were my genesis

Now you're a bruise

Dear Mother, is this all there is?

 _Oh, fuck_ , Max a heartbeat after the song was finished. _Oh, Dog…oh shit…I-I need to get going. They're all quiet. Everyone is quiet, Jesus fuck I have to go_. Max nearly tripped before hearing someone in the crowd sniffle. Some of the crowd were holding other people standing next to them, with others wiping at their own eyes. Max felt a tear run down her cheek as she picked up the acoustic guitar from where she'd accidentally dropped it and looked down to see Victoria. The blonde girl standing absolutely still, Max saw the running mascara as Victoria cried while mouthing _I'm sorry_ at Max. Looking away for a moment, Max looked at the blonde out of the corner of her eye and mouthed _Me, too_ before stumbling off-stage to a scattering of applause and the continued sounds of people crying.

Max nearly fell into Chloe as the bluenette caught her with outstretched arms, her eyes red and puffy from crying throughout Max's song. Kate was gone, Rachel telling Max that the song had been too much for the girl. Nodding, Max looked out at the crowd and felt a chill silently creep up her spine at the sight of Vanessa Caulfield standing at the front door. Max made out the look of horror on the woman's face as they locked eyes for a moment before Max turned away. _I…I can't care about your feelings when you stopped caring about mine._

* * *

"Max…," Chloe said as they finished changing back into their regular clothes, her voice quiet and worried as Max trembled slightly. The dorm room's freshener smell actually felt homey to Max after The Pier, her nerves giving way in the parking lot when she finally threw up.

Max had knelt by her jeep afterwards for a few minutes, refusing to let Chloe help her up as she just sat on the ground and cried until she was hiccupping. _I want to die. I feel like I could just up and die right now. I-I can't believe I did that._ Why _did I do that?_ Using her car to steady herself, Max had climbed into the back seat and let Chloe drive them all back. Seeing Kate watch her with a sad look on the blonde's face, Max had just given Kate a faint smile and thumbs up in reply before Chloe peeled out of the parking lot and sped off towards Blackwell.

"I'll…I'll get over it, Che," Max said, sighing as she packed up the clothes strung about the floor. She was leaving tomorrow morning and it felt like the weekend had come to a grinding halt. "Um, do you want to do something?"

"…Like what? I gotta admit, Max, after you wrenched the hearts out of everybody back at the club I'm kinda tired. Also, you were amazeballs. Fuck the haters, dude. Better yet, fuck _me_." Max chuckled slightly at Chloe's eyebrow wiggling before reaching into the pocket of her discarded hoodie, the light jacket hanging on one of Chloe's camp chairs.

"I hold in my hand a spare set of keys to your illustrious school, Chloe Price," Max said, dangling the keys from her hand, "I snatched them when I went back into your house to grab my duffel bag. _Someone_ told me that Blackwell has a heated pool, and I feel the need to have some relaxing fun."

"You fucking serious right now?" Chloe asked, eyes aglow as she walked over to look at the keys in Max's hand, "Splish splash?"

"Splish splash," Max said, winking as she grabbed Chloe by the hand and led her out into the darkened hallway. "We totally deserve it, Che."

"Well, we _are_ rock stars now. Only fair that a set of keys to Black-Hell be included in our rider…"

Max sat at poolside, her legs dangling in the heated water as she watched Chloe float in the middle of Blackwell's pool. Spending a couple minutes trying to find the lighting controls, the girls had spotted them behind a locked door. Undeterred, Max and Chloe had stripped down to their bras and boxers and jumped into the near-blackness of the water. Illuminated only by a small number of safety lights place around the pool's sides, the water had a calming effect on the girls. Seeing Chloe's silhouette plunge underwater, Max yanked her legs out of the water in preparation for what she knew was coming. Seeing a grasping hand reach out towards where her legs had been, Max pushed Chloe's emerging head back down with her foot.

"You brat!" Max giggled as Chloe's eyes widened before she was forcibly submerged by Max's foot…

"Dun-dun…dun-dun…," Chloe said as she popped back up a little further away.

"You know _Jaws_ freaks me out, so stop!" Max cried out, kicking water in Chloe's direction before slipping in to join her girlfriend. Wading over to the bluenette, Max pulled the other girl down into the water and gave her a long kiss, slipping in a little tongue without filling their mouths with chlorinated water. Feeling Chloe loosen up in her arms, Max swam up with her girlfriend in tow and headed over to poolside once more.

"Max, I'm so glad that you came down this weekend," Chloe said as she joined Max in leaning against the pool's edge, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Max said, leaning her head against Chloe's shoulder, "I needed my Che. Given all the heady shit that's happened this weekend, I don't know how I would have survived all the bullshit if I didn't have you to back me up."

"I'll always have your back, Babe. Promise." Chloe flashed the promise ring, smiling as she did so, "I still can't believe you actually gave me something like this. It's amazing and dorky as fuck all in one."

"Works then because you're the Queen of Dorkonia."

"Do I have a kingdom?"

"A Dorkdom. Your castle is made of beer bottles and sadness."

"Dude, that's lame. Why sadness?"

"Because a castle of beer bottles is just fucking _sad_. You'd have-"

Max shrieked as Chloe pushed her into the water, coming up gasping seconds later to hear Chloe laughing a little ways away. _Oooh! Oh, Chloe Price, you will so fucking pay for that!_

"Don't give me that face, Max. You did that to me not even five minutes ago! Count your blessings, nerd. I could have totally gone into shark mode and bit down on your pale ass."

 _Goddamnit, Chloe_.

"Who's to say that I would mind if you bit down on me? Not my ass, but perhaps somewhere else…?"

"Are you getting frisky, Max Caulfield?"

"Your Maxnado needs your bed. Time _meow._ "

"Yes, ma'am! My dorkdom is at your disposal!"

The jeep was fully packed up at Joyce's house the next morning, and Max was already homesick for Chloe, despite the fact that Chloe was standing right in front of her. Having woken up together, Chloe's dorm bed a mess of sheets and discarded clothes, Max had lit up and shared the last joint she had prepared before heading down for the weekend. Spending half an hour munching on donuts from the cafeteria and weak coffee, Max and Chloe had blown smoke rings at each other between bites and sips. _Then we cried,_ Max thought at the recent memory, _Because of course we did. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, my ass. Absence make the heart hurt like a motherfucker and I don't want to_ go _, Goddamnit!_

"Sure you can't stay a little longer?" Chloe asked, holding Max's hands as she tugged at them playfully, "My mom could whip up some hella good food for noshing…"

"Did you just say 'nosh'?"

"Shut it, nerd. I'm…I don't want you to leave."

"I don't _want_ to, Che. I _have_ to. My dad needs me right now. Hardcore-level needing of me, and I-I was wrong to think of bailing on him. Besides, I'm pretty sure he knew I was thinking of doing it anyway…"

" _I_ need you, Max. I fucking need you when you're here and ten times as fucking much when you're not around. Who will I cuddle or kiss or have sweet lovin' with?"

"If you say _anyone's_ name right now aside from mine even though it's a joke, I will not talk to you online for a week. Serious talk."

The girls weakly chuckled at their own banter. Max stood on her tip-toes to give Chloe one final kiss before she hit the road. Lowering herself down, Max brought Chloe with her and pressed the taller girl tightly as she slowly took in Chloe. Feeling the softness of Chloe's lips, the heat from her girlfriend's tongue, Max hesitated in leaving for a second before reluctantly pulling away. Seeing the teary-eyed frown on Chloe's face, Max kissed the bluenette on the cheek and gave her one more hug.

"How about next time we meet somewhere new, like Portland or something?" Max asked, needing to at least drop Chloe a hint about her possibly moving back. _I swear to Dog, Che, if you can guess it in one go I will spill everything right now._

"Why Portland?"

"Oh, well, it could be fun. That's all." _Shit. So much for that lack-of-genius plan_. "I'll see you soon, hopefully. I love you, Che."

"Love you, Maxaroni," Chloe said, her voice breaking as Max's eyes started to water. Not wanting Chloe to see her cry for what already felt like the umpteenth time in not even three hours, Max quickly slid into her jeep and pulled out of the Prices' driveway. Seeing Chloe out from the rearview mirror, Max rolled down the window to give her sniffling girlfriend one final kiss.

"Call you when I get to Seattle, okay?" Max said, a small kiss between each word. "Okay, Blue Wonder. Time for me to go. I love you!"

Max Caulfield cruised along the coastal highway, electing to take a longer way back. Feeling disheartened, lonesome from her partner-in-crime already being an hour away, the taste of Chloe's lips remained preserved in Max's mind as it began to fade from her mouth. Pulling her sunglasses out from the console, Max slipped them on to hide the tears welling up. _I promised Chloe I wouldn't cry, that I would be her "hella strong riot grrrl". I_ want _to cry, Che. I want to fucking let everything go and everything out. I…I can't_ live _like this, so much buried deep inside me that I feel like I'll suffocate inside myself._ Sniffling, Max wiped at her wet cheeks with the back of her hand before turning on her music.

Cycling through her playlists, Max selected "Crimson and Clover" by Joan Jett and laughed with a sad heart as the song reminded her of herself and Chloe together. _Seattle, Arcadia Bay, with a more permanent trip to Arcadia Bay in the possible future. Dad said it could be as early as October. That's what he_ said _anyway._ Thinking of the phone call she'd made after crossing Arcadia Bay's town limits, Max had pulled over to the side of the road and called her dad. Explaining what happened with her mother, only calling Vanessa "her or she", Max had been relentless.

"She came to the station. She got the call before you were able to answer Joyce's voicemail, I take it?"

"Sorry about that, Max. I called your mother, tried to explain to her that going down to Arcadia Bay would only make things worse. She wouldn't listen. Damn her, she never listens. Just trudges along thinking she knows best."

"She doesn't, Dad. Look, I'm going to take a longer way. Clear my head and everything. I'll call you when I make it to the state border, okay?"

"Sure, kiddo. Drive safe."

"I will, Dad. Love you."

"Love you, Max. See you when you get home."

Max toked on her joint as she drove through the wooded stretch of highway, having put her playlist on shuffle after the Joan Jett song. Listening to Sonic Youth, Max bobbed her head to the music's beat before it was cut off from a call alert. Max looked at the small display on her stereo. _Dad?_

"Miss me _this_ much, that you have to call-"

"Max." The seriousness and grief in her father's voice cut her to pieces as Max shut up. "Max, honey, I'm…I'm sorry.

"Sorry about what?" Max asked, brow furrowed, "Did the job offer at Portland not go through? Awww, Dad, that hella blows!"

"No, actually. I got the job," Ryan Caulfield said, his voice surprising Max with how rough it sounded as the signal cleared up, "Max, I just got a call from Joyce."

 _Chloe_ , Max thought, _Did…Did something happen to Chloe?_ Pulling over to the shoulder of her lane, Max parked the jeep so she wouldn't be driving at the mention of potentially destructive news. _Please. Please don't be Chloe._ Chloe's smiling face and the glittering shine of the promise ring on her blue-nailed finger came to the forefront of Max Caulfield's mind with love and a creeping fear.

"Did something happen? To C-Chloe, I mean. D-Did something happen to Chloe?" Max's voice quivering, her nerves suddenly raw, she barely noticed her father talking her down as she began to take in shallow breaths.

"Max, sweetheart, I…I think this might have been a mistake. I just wanted you to hear from me and not Joyce or Chloe," Ryan said, sounding fatigued. _Chloe's alright, then? Thank Dog. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Wait…if it's not Chloe, then why does he sound so…no, no way…_

"Max, I'm sorry. Your mother…she-she killed herself last night."

 _What._ Max's head went blank and it was as though the life fled from her body, eyes glazing over from the bombshell her father had just dropped on her. _She's…she's dead? I didn't want that, I_ didn't _want that. Holy fuck…Goddamnit, Mom…_

"H-How?"

"Suffice it to say, your mother is gone. I heard from Joyce before the police, so I'm assuming that it occurred in Arcadia Bay. I'm sorry to have to tell you so quickly, at such a bad time; however, I'm not going to tell how, Max. You don't need to hear something like that, especially when you're on the road. Just…just come home and we'll talk about it. Joyce actually managed to get me on the-"

Max put her car into drive and hurtled off down the highway, her tires squealing as she slammed on the gas. Tears running down her face, Max screamed until her voice went raw and she could only let out scratchy exhalations. Unable to think straight, the only thoughts that managed to surface were a mixture of all her memories with the woman who had raised her. Trips to the park in Arcadia Bay, movie nights at her house with Chloe. Max recalled the first scary movie she'd seen, _The Ring_ , and how tightly her mom had held onto her while Max just giggled at Samara Morgan on the screen. The bad memories also surfaced, however; drinking, swearing, things being hurled at the walls, and all the abuse she had taken from Vanessa Caulfield.

The memory of her mother at The Pier, the look of horror and grief on the woman's face as Max had finally opened up about her own pain, was what started Max's anxiety attack in earnest. At first, she didn't realize it was happening. Max was stressing out and figured that her heartbeat and breathing were normal for what was going on. _Mom is_ dead _, and I'm worrying about myself. Jesus fuck, I'm so goddamn screwed up. Swear to Dog, Dad is…Dad is…oh no…_ , Max thought as her peripheral vision began to dim. Feeling her body spasm, Max's sense of touch went numb as she fought to hold onto the steering wheel while simultaneously try catching her breath. Wheezing as the highway began to go dark, Max's eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she felt the jeep lurch as it went from paved highway to grass before the sudden jerking sensation of impact. _Chloe_ , _help_ was Max's last thought as unconsciousness claimed her, the world fading into nothing.

 **Epilogue**

 **September 21, 2012**

 **Seattle**

"Rachel, get your ass in gear!" Chloe shouted, beckoning for the brunette to hurry up and cross the street. _God, Rach, I don't have time for your casual-ass bullshit! I have to be at work in, like, a couple hours! Dude, you're so fucking lazy sometimes, swear to God._ Rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms, Chloe tapped her food against the sidewalk while Rachel smiled apologetically from across the street before sprinting over to the bluenette. Narrowly avoiding traffic, Rachel punched Chloe in the shoulder and pouted a bit when Chloe didn't even react.

"Chloe…I'm sorry. Really. I know this is serious, that you're serious. My bad." Chloe eyed Rachel for a moment, turning her head so as to look directly at her friend. _I'm taking shit out on Rachel when she doesn't deserve it. She's here, too, and I'm just being shitty because…well…it's Max's birthday…_

"Forget it," Chloe said, sighing as she took off her beanie to scratch at her freshly dyed hair, "So, uh, how do I look?"

"It's different, but still very much a Chloe Price kind-of look. I like it," Rachel said, lifting up her hand to run fingers through Chloe's hair.

Chloe felt a pang of sadness as she felt the touch, but shut the pain away and focused on Rachel's appraisal of her new style. Having let the hair grow down to her shoulders, Chloe had it layered the day before yesterday. Professionally dyed only a couple hours ago, Chloe's trademark blue outer layer now hung over an inner black layer. _Pitch black, heh. Just like Max._ Brushing Rachel's hand aside to run her own fingers through it, combing it out so that she didn't look like a complete mess, Chloe stuffed the beanie in her jacket pocket before checking her phone.

"You harass me to hurry up and cross the street, but it's okay if you check your phone? Good thing you're not _too_ much of an asshole," Rachel's sarcastic tone went unnoticed, leaving the brunette to awkwardly look down at her feet. "Chloe, please, tell me what's going on? I've barely heard from you this week? I mean, I came up here for-"

"If you say-"

"I came for _Max,_ Chloe, but I also wanted to see you. You left Arcadia Bay so fast. You have a lot of worried people back home." Realizing that Chloe was once again withdrawn into her phone, Rachel rolled her eyes. "Why the fuck do I even bother?"

 **Chloe: can't talk long**

 **Chloe: Rachel is here and she's hella PO'd cuz I'm not paying her any attention**

 **Chloe: just wanted to leave you yet ANOTHER message**

 **Chloe: tell you that I'll see you soon, and that I love you**

 **Chloe: Happy Birthday, nerd. Get ready for some celebratory nookie, Max! 17, you little shit!**

"Okay. Um, sorry," Chloe slid her phone into a pocket before hugging Rachel, "I'm being an ass. It's just that it is _today_ and I've been hella wrecked all week."

Taking Rachel's hand, more for her own comfort than her friend's, Chloe walked them both through the sliding doors of the University of Washington Medical Center and straight to the row of elevators halfway down the main hall. Rachel moved to go check the floor listings before seeing the knowing look on Chloe's face. _Dude, I don't know why you're pretending to check which floor. I fucking_ know _where we're going, Rachel._ Watching Rachel sidle up to her, Chloe made a point of trying to not look more pissed off than usual and gave her visiting friend a faint smile. Squeezing Rachel's hand, Chloe leaned over when they got into the elevator and pushed the button marked "8".

"Excuse me," a nurse said as she slipped between the closing doors, reaching in front of Chloe to slap the "5" button before seeing the pained look on the bluenette's face, "You okay?"

"Meeting someone," Chloe said, her voice alarmingly soft as Rachel furrowed her brow in worry. _It's not like I haven't been here before. Come on, Chloe, keep it fucking together for one trip. Don't freak out. It's not like you haven't seen this before, yeah, so chill. Please?_ Chloe rubbed at her eyes, looking away from the prying eyes of Rachel and the nurse. Climbing up the hospital floor by floor, Chloe felt a moment of relief when the nurse got off on her floor. _This is going to be brutal. It's always brutal, and you always end up fucking bawling on the way back. This is so fucking unfair, that shit-pit always manages to take everyone I love in one way or another. Rachel wonders why I stay in Seattle, why I don't even go back to visit? Reason number two, Rach, is that I can't stand the idea of watching more people vanish from my life. So, I'll vanish from all of yours instead if I have to. Except her. I'll never leave my Max. Never._

The hospital room door was cracked open when Chloe and Rachel arrived. Knocking softly, Chloe heard Ryan Caulfield say "Come in" in his usual baritone and slipped inside. Chloe had snuck in the first time, the hospital not accommodating her demand to visit until Ryan had put her on Max's visitation list. Chloe froze in mid-step. As much as she wanted to see Max, it was always horrifying to witness her girlfriend in such a state. _I…I don't know how much longer I can do this_ , Chloe thought as she watched Rachel walk past her, _She's right there, but she's so far away at the same time._

"Rachel, isn't it?" Chloe heard Max's father say as he came out from behind the curtain to give her friend a hug, "Good to finally meet you."

"You too, Mr. Caulfield," Rachel said, patting Max's father on the back affectionately, "Sorry I couldn't have come sooner. It's…it's hard, y'know?"

Chloe watched Max's father wince at Rachel's choice of words, the brunette frowning as she realized that she'd said the wrong thing. _Hard on you? What about him, Rachel? What…What about_ me _? Fuck your difficulty. You took weeks. I was here in a day, and I have no intention of giving up._

"Hey, Mr. C," Chloe said, grimacing as she walked over and gave Ryan Caulfield a hug, "It's like I just saw you, dude."

"You _did_ just see me, Chloe. This morning, heh. You know, if you're going to leave the balcony door open at home we might as well just shut the heating off," Max's father chided teasingly.

 _Oops_. Shrugging in a feigned indifference, Chloe broke away from the other two people. Leaving Rachel and Mr. Caulfield to talk, Chloe slipped through the curtained off area to see a smiling Max looking up at her.

"Hey, pretty lady," Max said hoarsely, a smirk on her face as she winced from an unseen pain. _She's hella adorable, even when in a hospital gown. Hmm, Max_ is _naked under there. Ugh, shut it! She needs you!_

"Hey yourself, Babe." Chloe moved to the bedside and carefully sat next to where Max was lying down, "When the fuck you getting' out of here, Max? Show your girl a good time and all that? I _am_ a Seattle resident now, so you need to wake the fuck up."

"What do you mean by 'wake up'?" Max asked, looking at Chloe in confusion.

"Huh?"

"You said _wake_ up, not _get_ up. Dingus, you always flub it up when you talk to me here."

Chloe watched as Max's eyes glazed over before closing altogether, the room seeming to grow dimmer as her girlfriend faded away. _No…_ , Chloe thought as she tried to reach out, her body frozen in place. _Please, Max, I need you! Don't fucking leave me! I can't fucking do this on my own! Come back-_

"Chloe?" Ryan Caulfield asked, gently shaking the bluenette as she stood just past the door, "Chloe, you okay?"

Chloe looked at Ryan, then at a saddened Rachel Amber. _It's all just a lie_ , Chloe mused to herself as the disorienting feeling that came with her daydream faded. _She's here, but she's not. I can't find her, wherever she is._ Nodding weakly, Chloe put a hand on Mr. Caulfield's shoulder before the he and Rachel gave the bluenette some privacy.

Walking over to the curtained partition, Chloe slipped past it and looked down at Max Caulfield. EKG beeping in rhythm, tucked into the bed up to just below her shoulders, Max was lying on the bed with her eyes closed and a peaceful look on her face. _It's like she's sleeping_. _She'll wake up any moment, you'll all see. She'll snap out of this bullshit and everything will go back to how it was._ Taking the seat at Max's bedside, Chloe sat down a wrapped her hands around one of Max's as she lifted it to her face.

"Hey, Babe," Chloe's voice low and soft as she kissed at Max's fingertips, "You remember kissing me like this? When I accepted your ring, you wouldn't stop kissing my hands and fingers for the rest of the day. It was mushy, but I didn't mind. I-I never…I never minded the mushiness so long as it came from you…"

"Max," Chloe said, her voice breaking as it lowered to a whisper, "Max, you can wake up now. Please? For me? I'm living in Seattle now and I hella _need_ my partner-in-crime. You know all the cool dives and shit, so I need my SuperMax to show me the way. Will you…Will you please just open your eyes and tell me that everything is going to fucking be alright?"

Her phone buzzing, Chloe sighed as she knew what was coming. Pulling the device out of her jacket, Chloe tapped the screen back to life and clicked on the notifications from the phone's service center.

 **Chloe: can't talk long**

 **ADMIN: Unable to send "Rachel is here and she's hella PO'd cuz I'm not paying her any attention" to inactive phone number. Please try again later.**

 **ADMIN: Unable to send "just wanted to leave you yet ANOTHER message" to inactive phone number. Please try again later.**

 **ADMIN: Unable to send "tell you that I miss you, that I love you" to inactive phone number. Please try again later.**

 **ADMIN: Unable to send "Happy Birthday, nerd. Get ready for some celebratory nookie, Max! 17, you little shit!" to inactive phone number. Please try again later.**

"Mother _fucker_ ," Chloe choked out, her crying bringing Rachel and Max's father back into the room, "Please, Max. Please wake up. I need you so bad. You promised me! You promised we'd be together! I won't leave you, so don't think you can just up and leave me! I can't lose my dad _and_ you! Please…"

Feeling herself lifted out of the chair, Chloe let Ryan Caulfield and Rachel guide her away from Max's bedside and out the room. As Chloe was ushered down the hall, she found her mind being pulled back to her the stillness of a silent hospital room and its sole occupant, a catatonic Max Caulfield.

 **Author's Note**

 **1 (800) 273-8255 - National Suicide Prevention Lifeline**

 **1 (800) 390-4056 -** **The Alcohol & Drug Addiction Resource Center**

 **If you all opt to not read anything else that I put out after this, I'll totally understand. I knew from the get-go that this story was going to end with a tragic cliffhanger. The question became of how far do I push it, and as you can see I pushed it pretty damn far. Just know that I had to stop three times when writing the epilogue because I was crying my eyes out. When I'm writing and I'm in a groove, I often find myself in the characters' headspaces. It is one of the reasons I can write so much with no drop in quality. Imagine being in Chloe's shoes; that's what writing the epilogue was like for me, as has been every story I've done.**

 **The title for the third installment is still being decided upon. As you can see, I time-jumped a few weeks and Chloe is now living in Seattle. I feel that I can say this because I allude to it, so yes she** _ **does**_ **live at the Caulfield residence now.**

 **I will likely update on Friday, trying to get back into my scheduled pattern of Mon/Wed/Fri. University starts back up in just under a month and I have my thesis proposal to rewrite and present so I'll be balancing that and LiS content. I hope to see you on Friday for the next installment in this story.**

 **Read, review, and I'll see you on Friday! You didn't think I was going to update on Dark Room's release date, did you? Wowsers…**

 **Stay hella, Cinnamon Rolls, and I'm sorry if I broke your hearts with this. I'm a writer – I'm out to compel you and make you feel. Just remember that I don't pull a swerve like this without leading you back :)**


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